Upper School Head Peter Neissa has only just moved into his office, but he’s already begun to make it his own. Books populate many of the shelves. A chessboard sits next to a fountain pen set, with a Pablo Neruda book leaning against the wall behind them. Pottery from ancient tribes that Neissa has studied is on display. Photos of Neissa’s family, including his wife and three daughters, are scattered throughout the office.

        “I’ve asked my daughter to give me some art work,” Neissa said. “I’m excited, I’m really excited.”

        Neissa, who was raised in Bogotá, Colombia, is replacing former Upper School Head Joe Ruggiero, who moved to Minnesota this summer in order to start his new job as Upper School Director at the Blake School. Neissa left his position as head of the World Languages Division at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts to come to Parker.

        “Nobody ever leaves Andover,” Neissa said. “In my division, there was someone who was entering his fiftieth year teaching at the school. The average was 30. Nobody leaves, but those who do always go for reasons that there’s more to do.”

        Part of the reason Neissa chose to leave Andover was the location.

“Andover is 25 miles north of Boston, but at the same time, there’s not much in Andover,” Neissa said. “When my wife went to get milk at Target, it’s nine miles away, so an 18 mile round trip. She wanted somewhere that was bigger, and for me, I wanted a more progressive school.”

        The possibility for promotion was another reason to move.  “To become chair of the Spanish department in your first year is unheard of and then to become division head within your second year is even more unheard of,” Neissa said. “It was a great job. Around the six or seven year mark, I realized the next step up would not be available to me because the position wouldn’t be up for another eight years. The next step up really mattered.”

        Neissa brings experience teaching at a secondary school level and a college level, as well as writing expertise.

Before his time at Andover, Neissa worked at various high schools. He eventually left to begin teaching Spanish to both undergraduate and graduate students at Harvard University.

When he realized the emphasis was not on teaching students, but rather on writing and researching, Neissa decided to make the move back to high school.

In between, Neissa wrote books about drug trafficking in Latin America, cultural imposition through language, and more. These books can be found on the shelves of his office.

To Neissa, education is the key to a successful life. “I believe in the primacy of academics,” Neissa said. “I believe education is incredibly valuable to the individual and to society, but we all come to the table with different attitudes, backgrounds, processing speeds.”

Neissa isn’t sure what changes he will make to the Upper School. Before doing anything, he wants to listen to what the community wants.

Neissa plans on stepping into classrooms to observe students and teachers, in order for him to get to know the Upper School students and faculty better, as well as help the Upper School get to know him.

“I’m going to be cautious,” Neissa said. “I want to identify one or two things that are possible and then move on those. Change is slower than most people think.”