BARNESVILLE — The Board of Trustees of Olney Friends School announces that Micah Brownstein, dean of students, and Cynthia A. Walker, dean of faculty, will serve as interim co-heads of the school for the 2017-18 school year.

The board asked Kenneth Hinshaw to step aside from his position as head of school on May 28. While acknowledging Hinshaw’s contributions to Olney, the board felt new leadership was needed to help the school continue to build on the momentum of the last several years. The new co-heads already have begun to work with the board, faculty, parents and broader Olney community to prepare for the next school year and the highest enrollment in many years.

Walker has a long and distinguished career as an educator at the university and secondary levels. She earned a doctorate in applied linguistics from the University of California at Los Angeles; her dissertation analyzed spoken communication in Chickasaw, a Native American language. She has taught English as a second language for many years and brings that expertise to Olney’s ESL classroom. She also has extensive experience in curriculum development as well as academic advising. Her years in higher education have given her a keen understanding of the preparation necessary for students’ college success. Prior to her move to the academic world, Walker was an engineer at NASA, IBM and Boeing. She is a faculty resident in the girls’ dorm at Olney.

Brownstein has served as dean of students at Olney since 2007; he oversees all non-academic aspects of student life, including school safety, student counseling, residential life and outdoor education. He also developed Olney’s financial literacy curriculum. Before coming to Olney, he was associate dean of students at The Storm King School for seven years. He has a master’s in counseling psychology from Pace University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Ohio Wesleyan University. Brownstein lives on campus with his wife, Akiko, who teaches Japanese and ESL, and their three children, who are all looking forward to being old enough to attend Olney.

“Cynthia’s and Micah’s professional expertise, collaborative approach to decision making, and belief in Olney’s mission prepare them well for the year ahead,” the board write to the Olney community. “They look forward to working together with the community — that is, all of us — as we build a sustainable future for Olney.”

Olney Friends School is a ninth through 12th grade college preparatory boarding and day school with a diverse national and international enrollment. Olney honors its Quaker roots by emphasizing consensus, integrity and cooperative conflict resolution while embracing ethnic, racial, religious and socio-economic diversity. Students participate integrally in all aspects of community life, including decision-making in the dormitories, providing input on academic offerings, and working in the kitchen and on the farm.