Posted 1:10 am Tuesday, December 08, 2009
New Headmaster Excited To Be Heading For All Saints Episcopal
By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer
All Saints Episcopal School announced Monday that its Board of Trustees has chosen Randal Brown of Virginia to serve as the new headmaster of the Tyler private school.
Staff Writer
All Saints Episcopal School announced Monday that its Board of Trustees has chosen Randal Brown of Virginia to serve as the new headmaster of the Tyler private school.
Brown currently serves as the director of development at Christchurch School in Christchurch, Va. His job at All Saints is effective in July.
He replaces current All Saints Headmaster Art Burke, who will retire in June after six years of service to the school.
Brown, 41, said he was very excited and humbled to be selected.
"They ran a very thorough and rigorous search process, and I know a lot of very good folks applied," he said by phone Monday.
He said he brings a wealth of independent school background, both in boarding and in day schools, to All Saints.
"I think there's an opportunity to take a young school that's been very successful and enjoyed a lot of growth and mature some of the vision that's been set into place there and grow the school further," he said, adding that while the academics at All Saints are "quite good now," he believes he can help make them even better.
All Saints is "well positioned to do great things in the future," Brown said.
"I'm excited and my family's excited that we're going to be part of that," he said.
The All Saints Head of School Search Committee began its search for a new head of school in June after Burke's retirement announcement.
More than 40 candidates from across the nation applied, Neysa Roberts, co-chairwoman of the search committee and an All Saints board member, said, adding that they narrowed that list to a pool of five high-quality candidates, from which Brown was chosen
Ms. Roberts said Brown embraced the school's mission, which is excelling in academics, fine arts, athletics and a Christian environment.
"He had all the skills and accomplishments that we were looking for," Ms. Roberts said.
Academic experience, development experience as well as leadership experience and financial management skills were all important to the board, she said.
"He had all the qualities we were seeking and needed to advance our school into the future," she said. "We're very, very excited."
Brown, also a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, previously served as the dean of students at Christchurch School, a boarding and day school for 220 students in the Tidewater region of Virginia, according to his biography information.
Before joining Christchurch, he served as the director of scheduling and as a history instructor at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, which is a kindergarten through 12th grade co-ed day school with more than 1,000 students, according to his biography. He also has worked at Darlington School in Rome, Ga., and the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tenn.
Brown was educated in Tennessee and is a Nashville native. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Rhodes College and a masters of education from Vanderbilt University.
He also has received a Bronze Star for distinguished service in 2005 as a battery commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, according to information from All Saints. He and his wife, Kristen, have three children.
Brown said he applied for the position at All Saints because he's at a point in his career where he is competitive for a head of school position and because his wife's family is from Fort Worth and still in the Dallas area. His mother-in-law, he said, was a longtime educator at Fort Worth Country Day School.
"The school appealed from afar and it was also a chance to be close to family," he said. "The more I investigated it, we really liked the school and the city of Tyler, and they fortunately liked me as well."
He added, "We are very, very excited about coming. There will be a lot of meetings and visits that go on before I officially take over on July 1. ΓΆΒ?Β» The Brown family is very excited to be headed your way."
