FA Headmaster Daniel Lee

FRYEBURG — Daniel G. Lee, Jr., will retire as headmaster at Fryeburg Academy in 2013.

“My decision to retire on June 30, 2013 after 20 years as headmaster was arrived at rather easily, but there will be nothing easy about leaving this extraordinary school, which has been my life’s work and my family’s home,” Lee wrote in a Dec. 5 letter to Asa O. Pike, IV, president of the Fryeburg Academy Board of Trustees.

He added, “At the risk of resorting to clichés, it’s time for a change. The Academy will prosper with a new voice of leadership, fresh ideas and renewed energy. A wonderful institutional opportunity lies ahead including the excitement of a national search and the challenges we all face giving my successor the best possible foundation for further school improvement and growth.”

Headmaster Lee recognized the efforts of Pike, as well as former Board President Conrad Eastman and others during his tenure, which have “strengthened the Academy’s programs, protected its freedom and independence, enhanced the school’s funding sources and built a campus for the new century.”

Lee’s contract expires in 2013. The headmaster decided to make his retirement announcement early to “provide every opportunity for a smooth transition — one that will foster the future success of our school.”

In a letter to the Fryeburg Academy community, Pike said some officials have known for some time of Lee’s plans.

“He (Mr. Lee) has been most diligent in terms of being sure that, while vacating the post he has held for two decades, would bring inevitable change to the school, his departure would not leave us unprepared,” Pike said. “I know that he has every intention of continuing to fulfill his duties with all of the enthusiasm and all of the effort that he has dedicated to our school and its people for nearly two decades. While he doesn’t necessarily carry a visible list with him every day, he knows and keeps us aware that there is much to do before he ‘graduates’ at the end of June in 2013.”

In early January 2012, the Academy will open a national search for a new headmaster. The top candidate will be a “person with the appropriate combination of teaching skills, personality and wisdom.”

Pike added that Lee’s tenure moved the Academy from a “school” upon his arrival to a “true campus that provides a highly positive overall life experience, particularly for our students, but also for all who spend their adult lives teaching and working here.”

“When this man departs the corner office on the second floor of the main classroom building, we must be sure that we have found a headmaster who will continue to nurture that campus experience,” Pike said.