Southern Teachers Agency

What Southern Teachers Agency does

Southern Teachers Agency was a privately-held education staffing and consulting firm founded in 1902 and headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. It served K-12 independent schools in the United States, placing head-of-school and administrative leaders and providing complementary professional services including executive coaching, school finance mentoring for new heads and CFOs, new head-of-school onboarding with board governance support, athletic director mentoring and assessments, and art program assessments. The firm operated as a boutique, relationship-driven agency with a staff in the 11–50 range, distributing its services through direct engagement with school boards and administrators rather than through a technology platform; core technology is listed as not applicable and pricing was quote-based on each engagement.

The agency's core deliverable was candidate matching and consulting for independent school leadership, drawing on a curated network of vetted search professionals and subject-matter consultants. Its go-to-market relied almost entirely on long-tenured professional reputation and word-of-mouth referrals within the independent school community, with no disclosed marketing channels, partnerships, or technology integrations. The firm carried no external investment, no parent company, and no subsidiaries across its 123-year history, operating continuously as an owner-controlled boutique under Carey Goodman.

In December 2025, after 123 years of operation, Southern Teachers officially closed and ceased accepting new business as part of owner Carey Goodman's retirement. The closure was not accompanied by a sale, merger, or succession; instead, the agency facilitated client continuity by publicly introducing schools to five named independent consultants — Tim Viands, Rod Chamberlain, Mike Waylett, Rich Gehman, and Rick Seay — who continue to offer comparable services in head searches, executive coaching, school finance mentoring, athletic assessments, and art assessments.

Name

Southern Teachers Agency

Legal name

Southern Teachers

Website

https://southernteachers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1902

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern Teachers Agency was a Charlottesville-based education staffing and consulting firm that placed head-of-school and administrative leaders for U.S. K-12 independent schools, and closed in December 2025 after 123 years of operation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Staffing Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Direct Hire (Teachers/Administrators) (BPACAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mentoring, Induction & Probationary Teaching Oversight Authorities (EDADAJAK)

Keywords

• Educational staffing services
• Teacher placement agency
• Executive search education
• School leadership recruitment
• Independent school consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Southern Teachers Agency was an educational staffing and consulting firm that placed candidates and provided advisory services to K-12 independent schools in the United States. Core offerings included head-of-school and administrative job placement, executive coaching, school finance mentoring, new head-of-school mentoring with board governance support, athletic assessments and athletic director mentoring, and art assessments. The agency operated as a direct service provider, matching vetted educators and consultants with schools on a per-engagement basis.

Product overview

Southern Teachers Agency was a single-service staffing and placement agency that specialized in serving independent schools and educational institutions. The agency offered a portfolio of complementary services including head searches and administrative job placement, executive coaching, school finance mentoring, new head-of-school mentoring with board governance support, athletic assessments and AD mentoring, and art assessments. The agency closed in December 2025 after 123 years of operation, and several independent consultants continue to offer these services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Head Searches and Administrative Job Placement

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Indy School Consultancy (Tim Viands): Boutique practice of a former Southern Teachers-associated consultant now independently taking on head searches and administrative placements. Directly inherits a portion of Southern Teachers' former book of business.
• IES Consulting (Mike Waylett): Independent consultancy led by a former Southern Teachers-aligned consultant providing school finance mentoring and head-of-school support. Emerging direct competitor carved out of the Southern Teachers network upon its closure.

Direct peers

• Wickenden Wasson & Company: Niche executive search firm focused on independent school head-of-school and senior leadership placements. Direct competitor in the same head-search segment where Southern Teachers was a long-standing player.
• Carney, Sandoe & Associates: Long-established recruitment firm (founded 1977) specializing in placing teachers, administrators, and leaders at independent schools. Direct competitor to Southern Teachers' core placement business and the most-cited comparable in the independent-school recruiting category.
• Independent School Management (ISM): Provider of consulting, leadership searches, surveys, and professional development for independent K-12 schools. Highly comparable on the head search, governance support, and consulting services that overlapped with Southern Teachers' offerings.
• The Education Group: Recruiting and consulting firm serving independent schools with leadership searches and teacher placement. Overlaps directly with Southern Teachers' head-of-school, administrative, and CFO placement services.
• CalWest Educator Placement: Education placement service placing teachers, administrators, and leaders in independent and faith-based schools. Comparable in placement model and independent-school customer base to Southern Teachers.

Broad incumbents

• NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Talent Services: Industry body serving the same independent-school customer base with job boards, leadership searches, and member services. Not a direct recruiter at the same scale but a relevant incumbent marketplace in the same vertical.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southrnteachrs
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernTeachersAgency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Teachers Agency