Ashley Hall is thrilled to announce that Elisabeth Lavin-Peter will be their next Upper School Director. Elisabeth comes to Ashley Hall from the Overseas Family School in Singapore, where she has been since 2007.
Ashley Hall is the only all-girls’ independent school in South Carolina, serving 694 students in grades K-12, with 173 in the Upper School. Ashley Hall’s mission is to produce educated women who are independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of society with confidence.
The Canterbury School of Florida is excited to welcome Hollis Amley as their 9th Head of School. Hollis leaves St. John’s School in Houston, TX where has been responsible for day-to-day operations for the Upper Division since 2014. She began her career at St. David’s School in Raleigh, NC where she progressed from teacher to Department Chair while also serving as Head Coach of the school’s inaugural swim team. Previously, at the Browning School, an all-boys school in NYC, she served as history teacher and Student Advisor. In 2011, she returned to St. David’s School where she gained experience as Dean of Faculty and Assistant Headmaster of Academics and Student Life. Raised in St. Petersburg, FL, she graduated from Shorecrest Preparatory School. Hollis received a B.A. in History from Davidson College, an M.A. in History from North Carolina State University, and an M.A. in Education from Teachers College at Columbia University.
Founded in 1968, Canterbury School of Florida is a co-educational, college preparatory, independent day school, located on two campuses in St. Petersburg, FL. Canterbury serves just under 500 students for ages 3 through grade 12, placing a heavy focus on academics, character education, community, and spirituality in the Episcopal tradition. Canterbury is recognized for its focus on student success, providing unique opportunities to learn through exploration, conversation, and connection.
Durham Academy is delighted to announce the appointment of Adam Braude as their next Chief Finance and Operations Officer. Adam comes to Durham Academy from the Webb School of Knoxville in Tennessee, where he has served as Director of Financial Services since 2007.
Durham Academy is a co-educational day school serving 1,200 students in grades Pre-K through 12, with an annual operating budget of $39 million. The purpose of a Durham Academy education is to prepare each student to live a moral, happy, and productive life through intellectual endeavor and growth.
Ensworth School is pleased to announce the appointment of Beth Pollard as their next Chief Financial Officer. Beth was previously the Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations at Darlington School in Rome, GA, where she had worked since 2006.
Ensworth School is a co-educational independent day school with over 1100 students in grades K-12. The school is housed on two campuses seven miles apart, one for the Lower and Middle Schools and one for the High School.
Father Ryan High School is pleased to announce the appointment of Francisco (Frank) Espinosa as their next Principal. Frank has extensive experience in Catholic education, having served as Principal at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, KY and, most recently, at Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, MD.
Father Ryan High School is the oldest continuously operating Catholic diocesan school in Nashville, enrolling 900 students in grades 9-12. Father Ryan provides excellence in religious and moral formation, academics, athletics, and the arts while remaining accessible to those seeking an education in the Catholic tradition.
Franklin Road Academy is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Eric Johnson as their new Assistant Head of School for Academic and Student Affairs. Eric comes to FRA from the Community School of Naples in Florida, where he is currently the Head of Upper School and Director of K-12 Strategic Initiatives.
Franklin Road Academy is an inclusive Christian PK-12th grade independent school, enrolling more than 1,000 students on the school’s 60-acre campus. For over 50 years, students at FRA have excelled in a challenging academic environment with exceptional athletic, arts, and servant leadership programs.
The Friends School of Atlanta is pleased to welcome Dorothy (Dot) López as their next Head of School. She comes to FSA from the Moorestown Friends School, a PK-12 Quaker day school in Moorestown, NJ, where she has been since 2008. She has served in a number of roles throughout her time at MFS, including as a math teacher, diversity director, and director of the Camden Scholars Program. Dot has been actively involved in matters related to diversity and inclusion and has provided strategic leadership throughout her independent school career. She is a graduate of Spelman College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, with bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and industrial engineering.
Located on just under six acres in Decatur, GA, the Friends School of Atlanta enrolls 189 students in grades PK-8. It is one of 78 Friends schools nationwide, and the only Friends school in Georgia. A co-educational day school founded in 1991 by members of the Atlanta Friends Meeting, FSA supports a values-based educational program that promotes peace, justice, and equality. The school offers service-learning opportunities for all students, as well as differentiated, developmentally-based instruction.
Girls Preparatory School is happy to announce that Beth Wilson will be their next Head of Upper School. Since 2018 Beth has served as Upper Learning Assistant Principal at Galloway School in Atlanta. Prior, she served as a coach and consultant for New Teacher Development in Rome, GA. Beth has also held several teaching and department chair roles in schools throughout Georgia. A graduate of GPS, Beth earned her B.A. in English from Davidson College, an M.A. in Rhetoric & Composition from University of Tennessee – Chattanooga, a certificate in School Leadership & Management from Harvard Business School and Graduate School of Education, and is currently working towards completing her Ph.D in Discourse Studies & Pedagogy from Old Dominion University.
Founded in 1906 on Christian principles, Girls Preparatory School is an all-female college preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. GPS enrolls around 600 students in grades 6-12. GPS Understands how girls develop and learn, and uses that knowledge and experience to create a program and culture that are intentionally and purposefully designed for what girls need in order to thrive.
Greensboro Day School is pleased to announce the appointment of Timothy “Tim” Finnegan as their next Chief Financial Officer. Tim comes to Greensboro Day School from the Archdiocese of New York, where he has worked since 2015 and where he currently serves as Director of Finance.
With a 72-acre campus and a $20 million annual operating budget, Greensboro Day School (GDS) serves approximately 950 co-educational students from age 2 to grade 12. GDS develops the intellectual, ethical, and interpersonal foundations students need to become constructive contributors to the world.
Harding Academy is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Walker will join the Harding community as their next Head of School in July 2023. He currently serves as the Head of Compositive Primary in Denver, CO, a new, inquiry-based school on the University of Colorado School of Medicine campus. He previously served as Head of School for San Francisco Day School for 7 years and Principal of Punahou School in Hawaii for 17 years.
Having recently celebrated its 50th year, Harding Academy enrolls over 500 students in grades PK-8. Harding’s beautiful nine-acre campus is situated near the quiet, residential neighborhood of Belle Meade, a short distance from downtown Nashville and proximate to Vanderbilt University. Harding’s balanced program combines rigorous academics and a supportive environment.
Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School is delighted to announce the appointment of Connie Urbanski as their next Principal. Connie currently serves as the Associate Superintendent of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, a role she has held since 2014. She was previously the Assistant Superintendent of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, a co-educational school of 150 students, is a member of the Cristo Rey Network, a national network of Catholic high schools that provide a rigorous college preparatory curriculum in the Catholic tradition and professional work study for urban young people who live in communities with limited educational options.
IMG Academy is delighted to welcome Michael Lehan as their next Head of School. He previously served as Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Achievement for Osseo Area Schools in Minnesota and as Principal of Osseo Senior High School.
Home to the world’s most dedicated student-athletes, IMG Academy is a boarding school and multisport training facility for students in grades 6-12 and post-graduate. IMG Academy attracts both domestic and international students, with just under half of the school’s population coming from abroad and representing over 70 countries.
Lake Highland Preparatory School is thrilled to announce the hiring of James (Jim) McIntyre as the School’s tenth President, effective July 1, 2022. Jim is currently in his 17th year as Chief Executive Officer and President at Father Ryan High School, a highly respected, almost 100-year-old high school in Nashville, Tennessee. At Father Ryan, Jim has initiated a broad range of academic, programmatic, and campus improvements to benefit students, faculty, and the institution. Prior to leading Father Ryan, he served as Head of School at Cardinal Newman School in South Carolina. He began his career as an educator at his alma mater, Bishop Lynch High School, in Dallas, Texas, as a classroom teacher, coach, and academic dean. Jim earned a B.A. in history from the University of North Texas and an M.A. in Educational Administration from Texas A&M, Commerce.
Lake Highland Preparatory School is a private, coeducational school in Orlando, Florida. Lake Highland Prep is the largest private school in Orlando and serves just under 2,000 students in grades pre-K through 12. Located on a beautiful 42-acre campus, the school’s focus is to inspire students to pursue their full potential to learn, lead, serve, and change the world. In doing so, the school teaches the nine tenets of Christianity, helping students cultivate character and develop into compassionate, empathetic, and courageous leaders.
Linden Waldorf School is delighted to announce that Mary Beth Sartain will be their next Director of Advancement. Mary Beth has been at Linden Waldorf since 2011, and has served as the school’s Director of Admissions since 2013.
Situated on 12 beautiful acres in the highly desirable Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Linden Waldorf School is a highly regarded, co-educational, independent day school for students in preschool-grade 8, with an enrollment of 160 students.
McCallie School is thrilled to announce the appointment of Jonathan Webster as the incoming Director of the Michaels-Dickson Scholarship Program. Jonathan has been at Washington and Lee University since 2002, and currently serves as Senior Associate Dean of Admissions.
McCallie School is a boarding and day school for 980 boys in grades 6-12. The Michaels-Dickson Scholarship Program (MDSP) is a highly competitive merit scholarship program that has been transformative in attracting exceptional students to McCallie for nearly 25 years.
Montgomery Bell Academy is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. William H. Daughtrey III as their next Head of School, effective July 2023. William currently serves as Director of Upper School and Hunting Valley Campus at University School, an all-boys school in Cleveland, Ohio, where he has been for the past ten years. Prior to that, he served for seven years at Woodberry Forest School, also an all-boys school in Virginia where he coached, taught English, and served as Assistant Dean of Students, and Director of Outdoor Education. William holds a BA from University of Virginia, an MA from Georgetown University, and an Ed.D from Vanderbilt University.
Montgomery Bell Academy is the oldest independent school for boys in Tennessee. Founded in 1867, MBA is home to 810 boys in grades 7-12. MBA is set on three campus’s: a 45 acre Main Campus, 10 acres of playing fields in Sylvan Park, and 200 acres on Long Mountain Campus, located 90 minutes away in McMinnville that features pristine mountaintop property including an observatory, a pavilion, cabins, playing fields, a lake, hiking trails, and high and low ropes courses. MBA integrates its curriculum with themes to which boys respond – courage, adventure, risk-taking, honor, and a sense of duty, and offers young men an exemplary college preparatory experience, assisting them to be “gentlemen, scholars, and athletes” who will make significant contributions to society.
New Hope Academy is thrilled to welcome Dr. Tonja Williams as their next Head of School, effective this July. Tonja joins New Hope from the esteemed Head Middle Magnet School of Mathematics and Science in Nashville, where she has served as the Executive Principal for nine years. With over two decades of experience as a secondary teacher and administrator, her strengths lie in teaching, mentoring, and empowering others in education and leadership. She has worked collaboratively to lead two schools, Head Magnet and Nashville School of the Arts, to Tennessee Reward School Status. Prior to her appointment to Head Magnet, she served as the Academic and Curriculum Principal at Glencliff High School and worked for seven years as the assistant principal for Nashville School of the Arts. In 2019, Tonja launched Peace, Love & Pearls, a girls’ mentoring program designed to equip middle school girls with tools and coping strategies to help them succeed in work and life. In 2020, she launched Power, Strength, and Purpose, a male mentoring program designed to help young men recognize their inner power, strength, and purpose. Tonja holds a B.S. degree in Science and an M.S. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Mississippi State University. She also holds an Ed.S. from Middle Tennessee State University in Administration and Supervision. Finally, she holds an Ed.D. from Trevecca Nazarene University in Educational Leadership and Professional Practice.
New Hope Academy is a private, coeducational, Christ-centered school educating children of diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds by establishing a Biblical worldview and preparing each child to flourish academically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. New Hope enrolls approximately 220 students in pre-K through sixth grade. New Hope Academy seeks to equip each young person to influence culture and society for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
Norfolk Collegiate School welcomes Nefertiti Makeda as their next Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Nefertiti served as the Founding Head of School at Andinet International School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for 20 years. In her time there, she expanded the enrollment rate from two students to over 1,600 students in grades PK-12, fostered positive change and a sense of belonging within the community, and created a college counseling program resulting in 85-90% university acceptances for the students. Nefertiti holds a Global Executive Ed.D. from the University of Southern California, an M.Ed. from Endicott College, and a B.S. in Arts and Sciences from Tennessee State University.
Norfolk Collegiate School is a co-educational, private, day school for 555 students, providing a rigorous academic curriculum for grades PK-12. Norfolk has continued to grow and expand since its founding in 1948, continuously accommodating the institution’s college preparatory mission. To uphold its 70-year reputation while preparing for the future, the school focuses its efforts on academic innovation, real-world experience, well-being and community, cultivation of talent, learning spaces, and the decades to come.
The Paideia School is proud to announce Tom Taylor as its next Head of School, effective summer 2023. Tom has been the Head of Upper School at Riverdale Country School in New York since 2020. He also held roles of Dean of Students (2009-2013), Director of Financial Aid & Outreach (2007-2009), and Upper School Physics Teacher (2004-2013). Before returning to Riverdale again he served as Upper School Director at Breck School in Minneapolis from 2013-2010. Tom received his BA in physics and theater from Oberlin College and his MA from Columbia University, and he is currently completing his PhD in education policy and leadership from the University of Minnesota.
Paideia School was founded by parents in 1971 and is home to just under 1,000 students in grades K-12. The school is located on 16 acres in downtown Atlanta with a separate 12-acre sports complex nearby. Paideia examines what they teach as a part of the way they live and interact with each other as a community. Deeply rooted in their values, Paideia prepares students to live in the world and to improve it.
The Diocese of Nashville is pleased to announce the appointment of Erick Chittle as the first President of Pope John Paul II Preparatory School. Erick has been an educator since 1996. He comes to Pope Prep from St. Francis High School in Traverse City, MI, where he has served as Principal since 2008.
Pope John Paul II Preparatory School is a Catholic, college preparatory day school for 775 students in grades 6-12. The school expanded to incorporate a middle school in 2021, and in 2022, made the decision to change its leadership structure to a President/Principal model.
Saint Andrew's School is thrilled to announce the appointment of Paul Beekmeyer as their next Upper School Head. Paul comes to Saint Andrew's from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where he has served as High School Principal for the past four years.
Saint Andrew’s School is an independent, day and boarding, college preparatory school for 1330 students in grades PK-12. Situated on an expansive 81-acre campus, Saint Andrew’s is South Florida’s most well-established and only non-profit day/boarding school.
Saint Mary’s School is pleased to announce the appointment of Adam Holden as their permanent Head of School. Adam has been the Interim Head of Saint Mary’s since 2022, and previously served as the Head of Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, FL and Instituto Alberto Einstein in Panama City.
An independent, Episcopal, college preparatory, boarding and day school for 315 young women in grades 9-12, Saint Mary’s School is dedicated to academic excellence and personal achievement, preparing their students for college and life.
Springmont School is excited to welcome Elizabeth Lener as their next Head of School. Elizabeth comes to Springmont from Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Alexandria, VA, where she has served as Assistant Head since 2015 and as Lower School Head since 2017.
Springmont School is Atlanta’s first Montessori school, with 240 students in grades PK-8. The school was founded in 1963 and is the oldest Montessori school in the Southeast. Springmont is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
St. Michael Academy is thrilled to announce the appointment of Shana Druffner as their inaugural Principal. Shana currently serves as Principal at All Saints School in Dallas, TX, a Catholic school for students in grades PK-8.
St. Michael Academy is a newly established school within the Diocese of Nashville, scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. Once fully operational, St. Michael Academy will be the only co-educational K-12 Catholic school in Tennessee.
The Benjamin School (TBS) is thrilled to announce that Kristen Sheehan will serve as their new Assistant Head of School. Kristen has been at TBS since 2007, and has been the Head of Lower School since 2015. Prior to joining TBS, she was the Dean of Faculty at All Saints Catholic School in Jupiter, FL.
The Benjamin School is a co-educational, college preparatory independent school for approximately 1300 students in grades PK-12, with campuses in North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
An alum of Westminster, a long-serving teacher, and a leader in the Upper School, Chanley Small transitions from Interim to Permanent Head of Upper School. Before becoming a member of the Westminster faculty in 2008, she worked as a professor and researcher in epidemiology at Emory University. Chanley chaired Westminster's science department for five years, led the Upper School JanTerm program in its first three years, and served as Upper School Academic Dean in 2017. Chanley holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Brown University, an M.S. in Biology from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Emory University.
Founded in 1951, The Westminster Schools is private, co-ed, Christian day school for students in grades K-12. With an enrollment of 1,873, Westminster students are curious by nature and nurtured by challenge. Situated on 180 wooded acres in the Buckhead community of Atlanta, Westminster has high standards, and students are given the support and encouragement they need to pursue their passions and reach their highest potential.