
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director
Education:
Middlebury College, BA; Middlebury, VT
Subject Areas at Winch: Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (978) 297-7811Email: jkerney@winchendon.org
The road to The Winchendon School wasn’t a nonstop. For twenty years John worked in finance and business ventures before making the turn towards education, and in 2008 he became the 6th Head of School. “Winchendon provided a special opportunity and platform unlike any other school for the chance to significantly improve secondary education. “ In 2017 John was made Chief Executive Officer of The Winchendon School. John, his wife, Marily, and their kids, Alex and Sara, all find the coast of Maine is their place to recharge and relax…often while sailing with John as skipper. An avid reader, intrepid technology explorer, runner, windsurfer, and woodshop tinker John operates from this premise and this goal, “Education can be really, really good, very interesting, fun, and highly individualized, and we can figure out how to make a great education cost less in the future too.” It is the personality of The Winchendon School and the character of the entire School community that energizes John.
- Favorite Winchendon tradition: Baccalaureate at the Cathedral of the Pines
- On the bucket list: Sailing and windsurfing 200 days a year, playing the piano, and creating a truly exceptional secondary education
- Go-to comfort foods: Marily’s curried anything, chicken Parmesan pasta, key lime pie, and ice cream with maple syrup, but not all together, please!
- Which Winchendon class or ColLAB would you most like to take: Digital Film Making
- Superpower of choice: I already have superhuman strength and invisibility, so flying would be awesome to add to that repertoire. Plus it would save me a lot of time and money as well!
- Heroes: So many of our students and teachers inspire me, every single day.