January 8, 2025

Dear Odyssey School Community,

On behalf of the Search Committee, I am thrilled to introduce our second finalist, Luke Salerno.

Luke Salerno has served as Head of Middle School at The Gow School, a school for students with dyslexia and similar language-based learning differences, in South Wales, NY (5-12, 91 day and boarding students) since 2017. His tenure at Gow commenced in 2000 when he joined the school as a History and Social Studies teacher. As Head of Middle School, Luke leads all facets of the Middle School program, including selecting and training new faculty and supervising and evaluating all department chairs, program directors, deans, dorm supervisors, and teaching faculty. Luke is a member of Gow’s senior leadership team, contributing to strategic planning, accreditation, and mission initiatives, and serves as executive-in-charge in the Head of School’s absence. He assists the Enrollment Management program in identifying and recruiting of mission-appropriate students, sits on the Board of Trustees School Life Committee, and represents the school for annual IEP, CSE, and funding meetings.

From 2013-2015, Luke participated in the New York State Association of Independent Schools’ Emerging Leaders Institute, a two-year program focused on developing future independent school leaders for which participants must be nominated and selected. He has attended various NYSAIS Division Head and LD School leadership retreats and the 2024 NAIS Welcoming School Institute.

Professional History and Education

Head of Middle School, The Gow School (NY), 2017-present
Director of Student Activities, The Gow School (NY), 2007-2017
Academic Director of Summer Program, The Gow School (NY), 2004, 2007-2011
History and Social Studies Teacher, The Gow School (NY), 2000-present
Dormitory Supervisor, Student Advisor, Athletics Coach, The Gow School (NY), 2000-2017
M.S. Social Studies Education Grades 7-12, State University of New York, Buffalo (NY)
B.S. Social Studies Education Grades 5-12, State University of New York, Buffalo (NY)

Luke will be on campus Thursday, January 9 and Friday, January 10 and will participate in a number of individual, small group and open forum meetings. Key meeting dates and times are listed at the end of this message for your reference. The Search Committee is excited for you to meet Luke and asks that you participate in our communitywide survey to provide your impressions of him for us to consider. The survey must be completed by 12:00 p.m. on January 11, 2025.

Use this link to access the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OdysseySalerno

On behalf of the Search Committee, I would like to thank in advance the entire Odyssey School family for what I know will be a warm welcome for Luke. Please try and take advantage of the opportunities to meet and hear from Luke and to participate in the community survey. Your feedback is a critical piece of what the Search Committee will consider in making its final recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

Warmly,
Terri Smith, Chair of the Search Committee

Search Committee Members:
Dr. Yael Allen
Cheryl Bernard-Smith
Crawford Hubbard
Janice Lepore, Psy.D
Kevin McAllister
Corey Paige
Chris Pope
Suzy Riedel
Michael Weinfeld

Candidate Meeting Schedule
Friday, 1/10/25
8:10 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Forum with current parents
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Forum with alumni, parents of alumni, and friends of Odyssey
RSVP here for sessions