Head of School

Welcome to the Waterside School!

My name is Paris L. McLean, and I am honored to serve as Head of School at the Waterside School – a Junior Kindergarten through 5th Grade independent school in Stamford, CT, serving 140 students and their families. Our diverse, kind, and caring community pulls together through our mission and under our pledge to work hard, be kind, and respect learning – a mindset and set of actions that empower our adults and young people.

Waterside is a critical and responsible leader because of our specific mission – a belief that an independent school education should be accessible to children and families regardless of limitations in income or circumstance. For over 25 years, we have been able to provide a dynamic academic and social experience for students who may otherwise not have an opportunity to attend an independent school; not because of a lack of talent, desire, or promise, but because of the barrier of tuition. By effectively eliminating the financial burden of tuition, Waterside has harnessed our students’ talents and equipped them with an academic foundation and a strength of character that propel them to success beyond our campus. And because we are committed to our students, Junior Kindergarten through Success, staying not just in touch with, but supporting, our alumni, Waterside has a growing network of over 380 graduates building on the gift of a Waterside education.

This reality does not escape me. In fact, it is one of the core elements that drew me to Waterside. As a scholarship student at Princeton Day School during my junior and senior years of high school, I experienced firsthand the transformative power of an independent school education and the generosity and kindness of others in creating pathways to academic and personal success. Having the opportunity and responsibility to lead a school with a mission centered on educational access and excellence is a personal and professional calling I am dedicated to.

When I reflect on my 23-year career, I step back to my earliest days as a 2nd Grade classroom teacher and am reminded that education should be a joyful experience. Students should come to school excited to learn and eager to walk into the room. To cultivate this experience, teachers must listen to their students and develop creative engagements that stretch a young person’s thinking and prompt them to ask questions about the world around them. I am grounded in the belief that independent schools create independent thinkers, so as teachers and school leaders, we have the opportunity and responsibility to cultivate a learning community that promotes this mindset; this is Waterside in action.

Whether you are a prospective family exploring which school environment can best serve your child, a teacher in search of a new and dynamic professional learning community, or someone inspired by the Waterside story and interested in philanthropically supporting our transformative mission, our doors are open to you.

There are many schools, but there is only one Waterside.

In partnership,

Paris L. McLean
Head of School

About Paris L. McLean

Paris L. McLean brings more than two decades of independent school experience to Waterside School. Before joining Waterside as Head of School, he served as Assistant Head of School at Montclair Kimberley Academy and previously held a series of leadership roles at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, including Assistant Head of School and Head of the Lower and Middle Schools.

Paris began his career as a second-grade teacher at his alma mater, Princeton Day School, where he also coached varsity basketball and received the David C. Bogle Award for the Pursuit of Teaching Excellence. Throughout his career, he has focused on elementary education, faculty development, student programming, and building strong, inclusive school communities.

Paris earned his B.A. in Elementary and Special Education from La Salle University and his Master’s in Independent School Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was a Klingenstein Center Fellow. He has also presented at national and regional independent school conferences and has served as a trustee at both Foundation Academy Charter School and Princeton Day School. He currently serves as a Trustee at the Center at 353 in Princeton, a private, non-profit agency that provides mental health services to the community and where no one is turned away because of an inability to meet the expense of counseling