Dear Trivium Prep families,

An email was sent last Wednesday from the Great Hearts Home Office regarding an update for the Trivium community. It has come to our attention that not all families received this communication. To that end, we have included the content of the original email below for anyone who may have missed it. Thank you for your understanding.

Dear Trivium Prep Families and Faculty, 

I am writing with some bittersweet news. After fourteen years of dedicated service to the Trivium community, Dan Schutten will be moving on from his role as Headmaster at Trivium Prep at the end of this school year.  

Mr. Schutten is a brilliant and talented leader who has truly poured his heart and soul into this work. He has done incredible work building the team, systems, and practices necessary to effectively provide a classical, liberal arts education to over 900 children each year. All the while, he has never lost sight of the ultimate purpose of our work – to cultivate the hearts and minds of our students in the pursuit of the True, Good, and Beautiful. Mr. Schutten’s dedication has not only been seen in his time as headmaster, but also in his work as Dean of Students, Dean of Academics, and Assistant Headmaster at both Archway Trivium and Trivium Prep. He also has continued to stay connected to the classroom throughout his time and has taught courses in multiple subjects, including music, mathematics, French, and Physics.   

As Headmaster Schutten finishes out this school year, we will be conducting a nationwide search for the next leader. In the process, we will be considering highly qualified candidates within Great Hearts and beyond to ensure we are bringing in the very best person to lead this wonderful academy forward. Once the next headmaster is selected, we will work diligently with Mr. Schutten and his team to ensure a strong and seamless transition.  

I will reach out again when we have an update on our search. For now, please join me in thanking Headmaster Schutten for his tremendous service here. See below for some words from him as well. 

With Devotion, 

Mac Esau, Executive Director of Upper Schools 

Great Hearts Arizona 

 Beloved Trivium Community, 

These past 14 years at Trivium have been the best of my career and some of the best of my life, not because of the rigorous curriculum, the facilities, the systems, or even the Great Hearts mission itself, but rather the wonderful people – students, staff, and families – that have lived out the mission. It is all of you that make this place special. My amazing, quirky students taught me (and this year, my Latin class has reminded me) how much I truly love middle-schoolers; the staff and parents taught me what a community of life-long learners can really look like and how joyful that can be; most importantly, my colleagues and mentors have taught us how to see the best in people and, better yet, help them see it in themselves. 

So, thank you to all of you who have made Trivium what it is over the years – I am eternally grateful! Though I am incredibly sad to be leaving Trivium, I am also very excited for what is ahead. Some of you may know that I have been on staff at my church for over a decade now. I will be joining them full time to oversee a preschool and, hopefully, help build a micro-model private Christian school on the church campus. I will also have much more time for my wife and children. 

Aside from my faith and my family, serving this community has been the highest honor and privilege of my life. I love all of you – staff, students, and families – so very much, and I promise you’ll still see me around, because my two oldest children will still attend Trivium. For now, let’s continue pursuing excellence together, pressing on toward the goal! 

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” (C.S. Lewis) 

Warmly, 

Headmaster Schutten