Clayton-Bradley Academy’s Board of Trustees unanimously selected Stephen “Steve” Nowack as the school’s next Head of School, effective June 10, succeeding founding director Pat Bradley, who is retiring.
Board and Search Committee Chair Don Bruce announced the decision in a letter to the CBA community, saying the choice capped a global search that began in late 2025 with the help of The Education Group, an educational recruiting firm.
The committee reviewed numerous applications and conducted five Zoom interviews with semifinalists before inviting two finalists to campus for a two-day interview process, Bruce said. Each finalist met with the Search Committee, the Board, faculty, staff, parents, students and other members of the school community, all of whom were invited to give feedback.
“I am honored and energized to join Clayton-Bradley Academy as its next Head of School,” Nowack said in the announcement. “CBA has been shaped by extraordinary founding leadership, thoughtful stewardship, and a deep commitment to students and families. I am grateful for the opportunity to build on the foundation Pat, Kevin, Don, and this community have created, and to partner with the CBA community in carrying that work into its next chapter.”
Nowack spent the past 16 years at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Georgia, most recently as assistant head for academic affairs. He previously served the school as director of curriculum and applied learning, humanities department chair, head of the middle school, and as a middle and upper school teacher and coach. Earlier in his career, he taught and coached at Deerfield Windsor Academy from 2008 to 2010 and served as assistant athletics director and a faculty member at Sherwood Christian Academy from 2006 to 2008, both in Georgia.
Nowack and his wife, Tammi, have four children, the youngest of whom will enroll at CBA this summer.
Bradley led CBA for 13 years and is retiring after a nearly 50-year career in education and school leadership, according to Bruce.
