Our Wildwood, Volume 54

“” LANDIS’ MOST IMPORTANT LEGACY, IN MY OPINION, IS TRANSFORMING WILDWOOD INTO A K-12 SCHOOL. —MELINDA TSAPATSARIS

future facilities through transformational fundraising. His legacy isn’t in education, though he is responsible for defining progressive education at Wildwood as the intersection of best practice and research and anchoring the curriculum firmly there. His legacy is in creating the culture and community necessary to sustain what was an exciting but fledgling educational notion in infancy 19 years ago. He built the system and infrastructure but more importantly established and modeled the values and norms that define a Wildwood education. CHRISTINA: Landis made Wildwood into the innovative, unique, and experiential powerhouse of a school that it is today. Mastery Assessment, the Institutes, and the opportunities for students to reflect on their learning through Gateways and Exhibitions are things that you won’t find at other schools, and that’s because they aren’t brave enough to take these on in this high stakes world right now, but Wildwood students are benefiting from these experiences in ways that will serve them well into their future. MELINDA: Landis volunteered and “paid forward” his leadership and expertise to the broader educational community. He served on the California Association of Independent Schools Board of Directors and other Boards, he led many accreditation teams, and so on. I saw him grow through these experiences and I saw him get Wildwood’s name out there, in California and nationally. There is a reciprocity to the Habit of Service to the Common Good. Landis modeled this notion to me. Landis’ most important legacy, in my opinion, is transforming Wildwood into a K-12 school. Even though technically that change predates his leadership, Landis is the one who—at a cultural and systems level—made it happen.

areas that I wasn’t as familiar with, such as Advancement and Business. These opportunities helped me build the confidence to take the next step into headship. I have taken the value of helping someone grow and progress into my practice at Madeira. When I see good professional opportunities, I make sure that I send it along to the people who would benefit from it. It’s a way to help pay this forward. LORI: Landis makes space for and trusts people to do their jobs. You see it in this relationship to the people closest to his leadership. The path of least resistance would have been to nurture talent and then hold tight to it, justifying retention as institutional necessity. But Landis charted a different course entirely. Over two decades, he has mentored three female assistant heads of school into headships of their own—a remarkable testament to his conviction that advancing women’s leadership transcends any single institution’s interests, even his own. Each departure undoubtedly made his own role more challenging. This is leadership in its purest form: putting mission before comfort, principle before convenience. MELINDA: Firstly, lead with the mission. It’s your lodestar. Secondly, don’t break up with your hairstylist through a post-it note. Lastly, surround yourself with colleagues who are more intelligent than you (hah!), think differently than you, and who are comfortable disagreeing with you. Diversity (in all its variety) truly makes us smarter.

OWW: If you were to describe Landis’ legacy—in one moment, habit, or belief—what would you want the Wildwood community to remember most?

LORI: Landis’ legacy isn’t in buildings, though he is responsible for all upgrades to the school’s current and

OWW SPRING 2026

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