Jared Perlmutter –

What a year for Dr. deChabert, as her seventeen years at RCDS have taken an interesting and exciting turn! As the 2021 school year began, Dr. deChabert accepted the role of Interim Upper School Principal.

“I took this on as an interim position because we got notice pretty late in the year that Mr. Leef couldn’t return. And so rather than do a search for someone at that point in the year where you’re probably not going to get the best candidates, I said I’ll step in, we’ll handle it and then we’ll find somebody good,” she explains.

That plan did in fact work out because a new head of school was finally selected after an extensive search, which means next year Dr. deChabert will go back to her role as the assistant head of school. 

Dr. deChabert began her career at RCDS in 2005 as an Upper School English teacher, and was the first Director of Diversity and Inclusion, before taking on the role of Assistant Head of School. Having an incredible history at RCDS, Dr. deChabert shed light on how the school has evolved since she started.

“I feel like these days we have so many more things for folks to be involved in. We have all these initiatives. We have a host of clubs and the Public Purpose program. I feel like the energy of the place has risen in a good way. And I also think that students have gotten more sophisticated over time, which I think is a function of a just society and how we are growing as a group of people.” 

In the meantime, while in the role of principal, she talked about some exciting plans in the works. “The sky’s the limit in terms of student ingenuity and imagination… I think that a lot of the really good ideas come from the students. And so we’ve been very happy to partner with the student government this year on things like Field Day and the Spirit Week.” 

Additionally, an idea she spoke highly about was occasionally canceling classes and taking mental health days.  

She explains that her “sense is that the Upper School is a tough environment sometimes at particular points, and no one needs all that stress. You all are too young for that. We can work on that. I just like to have fun, too. So in whatever ways that we can bring more fun, particularly in the really stressful time, that would be really good.” 

Not to mention, Dr. deChabert is thrilled to share a message on her hopes for students’ success. “This idea of what success is supposed to look like and success should be driven from within a student, not from external things.” 

She is extremely keyed in on all the pressures and stresses a student has to go through. Her message about the success of students lied in, “at the end of the day, all of our students are going to go to great colleges. You’re all going to graduate. You’re all going to do what you are here to do. So take a little bit of that pressure off and just try to find the things that fulfill you and make you happy and feel successful along the way. You’re in a great school that’s positioning you all to be leaders in this world, whether you like it or not. And so you’re going to be, like, perched to soar into that. And what do you want to do with that?” 

Furthermore, with all the important roles that Dr. deChabert has held at RCDS, there is no question where her true passion lies. “I honestly love teaching my class every day. There’s only one year at Rye Country Day that I didn’t teach. And I think that year I was depressed because I didn’t have daily student contact. And I just love my classes. Every time I have a class, I call them the best class because they’re like, they are the best. We have fun. They learn and love talking about literature and teaching grammar and all those things. That is the best part of my day.” 

Dr. deChabert’s love for the community and students is apparent.  She has served as a crucial part of RCDS’s success and will continue to do so in the years to come.