Palmer Joins Administration

Christina Palmer, appointed on July 1 as Director of Student Health and Well-being, will begin in her role this fall. The Director of Student Well-being position was created last year following revelations of sexual misconduct cases at Exeter. According to the school, she will be responsible for developing a vision “to support and sustain a culture of care and concern for the student well-being in the community.” One of her many roles is to “enhance training and education” of students and faculty on “the prevention of sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual violence.”

“Ms. Palmer’s position replaces the dual role that was temporarily played by Ms. Stapleton and Ms. Sciocchetti.”

The appointment was the culmination of a nationwide search that the administration carried out with the goal of hiring someone to carry on the work done by Tina Sciocchetti and Jane Stapleton during the 2016-17 school year. Sciocchetti and Stapleton worked closely to spread awareness surrounding sexual assault prevention last year, while also helping to handle the legal side of sexual misconduct at Exeter. Principal Lisa MacFarlane said that Stapleton and Sciocchetti’s tenures “allowed us to design the position based on what we learned with them.” Guidance counselor Dr. Thurber added that “Ms. Palmer’s position replaces the dual role that was temporarily played by Ms. Stapleton and Ms. Sciocchetti.”

Palmer will bring a breadth of experience in pivotal domains to the job. Her past work has dealt with “social and emotional learning, restorative justice, cultural competency, gender identity, mental health, civil rights compliance and risk management.” “I have spent over 20 years in education in student supportive services, always ensuring student’s well-being,” Palmer said. Her most recent job was as the director of guidance and clinical services in the Brookline public school district in Massachusetts which consists of nine different schools. During time in that position, Palmer attended to the needs of 7,700 students.

According to MacFarlane, Palmer’s work at the academy will serve three main goals. The first is to start putting into place prevention programming that focuses on the ideas of healthy relationships and clear communication.