Head of School

In 2026, Rich Schellhas 1760 (SHELL-hahs) celebrated his tenth year as Head of School at Germantown Academy - a decade marked by thoughtful leadership, ambitious vision, and an abiding belief in the power of a school community to shape lives.

An inspiring educator and thought leader, Schellhas has been a strong and steady presence at GA for more than 17 years. He arrived in Fort Washington in 2009 as Head of Upper School and was named Assistant Head of School in 2012. In 2015, the Board of Trustees named him Head Elect, and he began his tenure as Head of School in 2016. Since then, he has led GA with a distinctive blend of optimism and purpose with the ability to honor the school’s extraordinary history while continually asking what it means to prepare students for the world ahead.

Under Schellhas’s leadership, GA has also embarked on an expansive period of innovation and growth. He has invigorated and reshaped academics, student life, and faculty collaboration through new courses, educational initiatives, and programs. His commitment to learning that extends well beyond the classroom inspired the creation of the Germantown Academy Experience Program (GAXP), which offers Upper School students fully funded opportunities for immersive learning in service, nature, the arts, and other areas of exploration. He also established the Brian H. Dovey Changemakers Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, empowering students to lead with purpose, think independently, and transform ideas into meaningful and lasting impact.

Schellhas has expanded GA’s global perspective as well, initiating the Academy’s PreK–12 international program and cultivating faculty and student exchanges and curricular partnerships with schools in China, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. He also developed the Curriculum Partnership Program between Germantown Academy and Capital Normal University High School in Beijing, creating new opportunities for international learning while generating an important source of auxiliary revenue for the school.

Alongside the Board of Trustees, Schellhas led the creation of GA2030, the Academy’s newest strategic vision which will be unveiled in fall 2026. Rooted in a commitment to prepare students for lives of purpose and integrity, GA2030 is organized around five pillars: Learning for Life, Athletics, Financial Sustainability, Campus Planning, and Equity & Inclusion.

As a leader, fundraiser, and donor, Schellhas played an essential role in the success of Our Moment – The Campaign for a Stronger GA, helping to advance a vision that strengthened both the school’s financial foundation and its physical campus. Completed three years ahead of schedule and exceeding its $26 million goal, the campaign added more than $19 million to the endowment to support financial aid, faculty salaries, and innovative programs and helped build a new $10 million Health & Wellness Center that connects the entire GA community through athletic spaces, wellness rooms, department offices, and the Hall of Athletic Achievement.

Schellhas also helped envision and secure philanthropic support for several additional transformative campus projects, including the Lower School Playgrounds, Sapling Center for Early Learning, and the A to Z Lower School Library. Together, these investments reflect his belief that a strong school community requires both the resources to thrive and the spaces where students can learn, play, gather, and grow.

A respected leader beyond the GA campus, Schellhas has served as vice president and treasurer of Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), contributing his experience and perspective to the broader independent school community and leading accreditation visits to several of the region’s best independent schools.

In July 2020, Schellhas was inducted into Germantown Academy’s honorary alumni society as a member of the Class of 1760. The honor is particularly fitting for a Head of School whose leadership is deeply intertwined with the Academy’s past, present, and future, and whose enthusiasm for GA’s people, traditions, and possibilities is felt throughout the community.

Schellhas earned his undergraduate degree in German and Government from Georgetown University, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa in 1991. He received a master’s degree in German literature from Princeton University in 1995 and spent a year teaching at Princeton. He lived and studied in Germany and Austria for three years and has accompanied dozens of student groups abroad.