Menlo School Dean Is Named Headmaster Of Brentwood School

   Brentwood School has announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Pratt as its new Head of School. 
   Most recently Academic Dean at the Menlo School in Atherton, California, Pratt will assume his new role July 1. Prior to his five-year stint in Atherton, he was a program officer for the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., and a teacher of history and department chair at the St. Stephens and St. Agnes Schools in Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received both a Masters Degree and a Ph.D. in history at Harvard University. 
   Pratt was chosen after months of research and deliberation by the search committee, which consisted of teachers, administrators and members of the Board of Trustees. “I felt he had both tremendous talent and drive,” said Richard Sandler, board member and chair of the search committee. “He has a firm sense of the educational mission of the school.” 
   Pratt said, “One of the things that attracted me to Brentwood School is that it is already in great shape.” While not planning any immediate changes, Pratt wants to build on the school’s current diversity policy, with further integration of qualified minority faculty and students. “I believe very strongly in diversity. I think a quality independent school ought to reflect the population. One of the things I’ve been most proud of at my work at Menlo is that I have made a lot of progress diversifying the faculty.”
   Pratt will succeed Dr. Hunter Temple, who is retiring after 19 years as Head of Brentwood School. Temple was involved in the search process for his successor and is committed to making the transition for the new Headmaster as smooth as possible. 
   Pratt and his wife, Susan, a musicologist, have a daughter who attends the University of California and a son who is currently a sophomore in high school.