Carol Santos

A transformational leader with over three decades of experience in the private school sector, Carol Santos is a high-impact educator. Her impressive career as a leader of independent schools recently culminated in her role as the founding Head of School at Dipont Huayao Collegiate School in Kunshan, China, where, since 2019, she has spearheaded the design, establishment, and sustainable growth of this American-style, pre-K through 12, bilingual school.

Upon graduating from college with a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, she fine-tuned her skills in financial analysis and management as a corporate executive before finding her true vocation in the field of education. Her career in education began in earnest at the Westover School in Connecticut, where she served as Dean of Students, Interim Director of Studies, Assistant Director of Admissions, Director of Diversity, Director of Women in Science and Engineering, Varsity Basketball Coach, Mathematics Teacher, and Class Dean. Earning her Ed.M. from Columbia Teachers College and currently about to earn her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, Carol has also served as Assistant Head at Groton School, Associate Head at Miss Porter’s School, and Head of School at Centennial Academy.

Carol is well-known for her capacity to affect positive change in schools, and she attributes this ability to the work ethic she developed as a student-athlete at Ansonia High School. There, teachers and coaches pushed her to overcome numerous obstacles to achieve both academic and athletic excellence. Like the organization Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., which she revived at Penn as a freshman, Carol is “action-oriented” and “community conscious.”

Leadership, empowerment, and positive change. These are the contributions Carol Santos has made to the field of education and continues to make as an Educators Collaborative partner. EC is thrilled to have Carol as a member of the team, bringing her considerable breadth of leadership experience and knowledge from both international and domestic independent schools to bear on the search, coaching, and strategic work she does as a partner.