Editor’s Note: The print version of this story stated that Dr. Thomas López starts at Poly this fall; Dr. Thomas López will start at Poly on July 1.
Starting on July 1, Dr. Noni Thomas López will be Poly Prep’s Head of School. Now in her sixth year as Head of School at the Gordon School in East Providence, Rhode Island, Thomas López brings three decades of experience in independent education. Thomas López is returning to New York City, where she spent 20 years as an integral member of the city’s independent school community. “While my last place of residence in New York was the Boogie Down Bronx, BK holds a special place in my heart. From signing my first New York apartment lease to walking home across the Manhattan Bridge after the Twin Towers fell, my time in Brooklyn was a time of becoming, for me and the borough,” said Thomas López. She will be the first woman and person of color to lead the Poly community. Her background includes a strong academic background, experience in mentorship, and historical awareness, which she brings to the role as Poly transitions into a new chapter of leadership.
Although she doesn’t officially take on the role of Head of School until July 1, Thomas López has devoted herself to achieving the goal of meeting with every faculty and staff member one-on-one before she assumes her role. Thomas López said she doesn’t intend to enter Poly with major changes in mind to implement before she understands the community’s goals first. “So that’s the reason I’ve been having these meetings with the faculty and staff: to get to know Poly, to understand what people love about the place, what they don’t want to change, what their hopes are for this transition and concerns and questions that they may have,” Thomas López said.
Assistant Head of School, Academics Michal Hershkovitz has gotten to experience Thomas López’s willingness to make connections and learn about the Poly community firsthand: “Interpersonally, I’ve been really happy to see how thoughtful and intentional Dr. Thomas López is in her interactions with me and other members of the faculty and staff. She clearly appreciates all that has come before her. She clearly appreciates the wonder that is our school.” Ultimately, Thomas López said that her primary goal upon entering Poly is to gain a deep understanding of Poly’s mission and identity.
In further pursuit of this goal, Thomas López has seized the opportunity to immerse herself in various sections of the Poly community. “I‘m glad that I’m here in Brooklyn now because it’s given me an opportunity to come to student events, like the [Spring Vocal] Concert. I’m also going to be meeting with [the] student government, and I’ll be spending time on the lower school campus as well,” said Thomas López. Anna Brandmeyer ’26, said that during a Middle School Senate meeting with Thomas López, “[she] seems like she actually wanted to get to know the students in the Senate. It didn’t feel like she came to the meeting because of an obligation. It felt like she wanted to be there.” Thomas López recognized that visiting the many different groups and events Poly has to offer “will be harder during the school year,” so she is prioritizing getting a feel for the Poly community before she assumes her new position.
Being a present and familiar face across both of Poly’s campuses is a primary goal for Thomas López for the upcoming school year. “One of the things that became clear through the interview process was that Poly was really looking for a Head of School that people could feel was more present in the day-to-day life of the school. And so, I’m going to have to be strategic about what that looks like.” Thomas López plans to go beyond major school-wide addresses at assemblies as her main form of communication with the student body. Although she wants to introduce herself at the beginning of the year in a formal fashion, Thomas López also intends to take the steps to be present in Poly’s vibrant culture. “[I plan to attend] arts and athletic events, and other special traditions and make sure I’m a part of [those traditions]. But I want to hear from students, too. There may be things that Heads of School have not traditionally been a part of, but if students feel like it’s important for me to do that, I’d like to do that.”
Thomas López values student input in deciding where to be present on campus to e
ngage meaningfully with the community. “I’m going to be asking for help from students, the faculty and staff to think about where I am going to be best present so that you all can feel that I know you, I care about you and I am thinking about you when I make decisions.”
One of the main reasons Thomas López said she is excited to serve as Head of School is to shape how students enter the world after graduation. Rather than entering Poly with premeditated changes to implement for the student body, Thomas López instead said she knows what kind of students she wants to help foster at Poly. “One thing that’s becoming clear that has been in Poly’s history and still seems to be very important is the idea of character: character above all. How do we create [a space] where we create conversations where students talk about how we want to be with one another? This reflects our understanding of what it means to be a person of character in the world today.”
Through many years of working in education, Thomas López has developed an understanding of the relationship between adults and students, and how this relationship can be curated to shape students into beings with character and integrity. “It’s important for adults to understand where young people are [in their lives]. They’re defining character and what that looks like, and adults have a lot to teach and share with young people.” Thomas López aims to take this character-building mentality and integrate it into the Poly’s culture by asking questions: “So once we kind of come around, this is what we think we’re about or this is what we believe we’re about, then that’s where you talk about, how does our curriculum connect to that? How do our extracurricular programs connect to that? How does our athletic program connect to that?”
Thomas López is entering the 2025-2026 school year with the intent of instilling a sense of purpose in each and every student and making a positive, long-lasting impact on Poly’s community. “We only do one trip on this planet. There’s only one life we lead. And so it’s really important to me that I feel like when I leave this Earth, I’ve impacted people, the planet, the things that I care about in really important ways; in ways that are meaningful to me.” Through many years of focused work in the leadership-building and academic fields, Thomas López has developed a drive to create positivity and purpose in every environment she works in. “The work of a school is creating a space where both the adults and the young people can pursue their purpose.”
