Head of School Bart Bronk has led The Hun School of Princeton for over a year now, but many of us don’t know his story.
Mr. Bronk has always been an educator; his first job out of college was at The Franklin Institute.
“I thought I was going to be in museums my whole career,” stated Mr. Bronk in an interview.
However, his career took a turn when he received a call from his former Head of School, the school that he had attended from seventh through twelfth grade, asking him to come back and be the director of admissions.
Mr. Bronk eagerly accepted this position. “I did it and I loved it,” he reminisced. “I fell in love with being a school professional.” From there, he went to a school in Michigan and became Head of School there.
But in 2020, life took an unexpected turn for him, as it did for everyone, when a worldwide pandemic shut down schools.
“As you can imagine, school leadership was really hard at that period…it had been a lot to bring a school through such a traumatic experience … so my wife and I decided maybe it was time to come home.”
He then started to look for school leadership jobs, and it just so happened that Mr. Brougham was retiring. Seizing the opportunity, Mr. Bronk went through a long process of interviews and visits until eventually he was chosen as the most qualified candidate, earning the title of Hun’s new Head of School.
At Convocation in the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, Mr. Bronk stood up to address the students of Hun for the first time. Ever since that moment, he has contributed immensely to Hun’s close community and core values.
Mr. Bronk began the year by shadowing students. He went back to school for a week with a student from each grade level, attending classes and eating lunch with them. However, he didn’t just learn chemistry and U.S. History; he found evidence of The Hun School’s mission.
Reflecting on the connections he was able to make with students he says, “There was no better way to learn the language of the school. For me, if you don’t spend time in classrooms you really don’t have a sense of the ethos of a place.”
In addition to being the Head of School, Mr. Bronk is a proud teacher.
“To me, teaching is joyful. It’s at the heart of what schools do. To be able to experience that as part of my day is really rewarding. It’s often the best part of my day,” he says, adding, “I think it’s a powerful symbolic gesture to the faculty as well, which is to say I’m not some aloof leader in an ivory tower. I’m participating in the life of the school. There’s benefit in standing with the faculty.”
After officially settling in, Mr. Bronk shared his thoughts on his Hun experience so far without hesitation, stating that “Hun is a great place. It has a couple of things that are really distinctive. One is the educational mission … it’s an educational environment where your ideas, your voice, your choices, and passions matter most … I’m really proud to be at a place that takes that seriously. And then, the community. As I got to know Hun, it’s a word that people kept using … so it’s been really nice to feel that.”
For Mr. Bronk, the year was full of special moments. “It was really fun to live a cycle of the school year and experience each of those moments” he says. Whether it was Convocation, Family Weekend, Homecoming games, or being a patron of the arts, each of those moments were special for him to experience for the first time.
When students were asked about Mr. Bronk, a chorus of heartfelt praise emerged, each remark reflecting his positive impact on our community.
“He has always shown up for girls’ tennis, which has meant a lot to us when he comes to our games. He always brings a good spirit and a positive attitude,” remarks Zaya Petty ’27, similar to Sophia Navarro ’27 who stated that “He is someone that we looked up to for support.”
After only being a member of the Hun community for a year, Mr. Bronk has made a lasting impact on the Hun community that will surely unfold even further in the years to come.
