Saint Mary's School 12th Head Of School Theo Coonrod Announces Plans to Retire in 2012

Oct. 19, 2010 - PRLog -- RALEIGH, NC –  Theo Coonrod, head of Saint Mary’s School, announced this morning to a gathering of students, faculty, and staff assembled in the school’s historic chapel her decision to retire at the conclusion of the 2011-2012 school year.  Ms. Coonrod has served with distinction as the 12th head of the Raleigh girls’ school since 2000.  

“The year 2012 will mark my 12th year as the head of Saint Mary’s School,” says Ms. Coonrod. “Twelve years is a healthy and respectable tenure for a head of school, and 2012 is an appropriate time for Saint Mary’s to embark on a new era of leadership and for me to return home to my family in Texas. The timing seems right for my retirement. By 2012, the school will have completed its re-accreditation, brought to a successful conclusion the “Beyond Imagination" Capital Campaign and the first phase of the 25-year campus master plan created in 2001, and implemented forward-thinking initiatives in academics and student life. We will also have completed a new strategic plan, which will serve as a blueprint for Saint Mary’s next leader. Over the course of the next year and a half, both the Board and I will be working steadfastly for Saint Mary’s so that the 13th Head of School will inherit a thriving, financially-sound boarding and day school with a bright and promising future to match its proud history.”

Saint Mary’s School Chairman of the Board W. Trent Ragland III announced that the school’s Board of Trustees is already making plans for a nationwide search for a new head of school.

“It is with deep gratitude and much appreciation for her years of service that the Board of Trustees has accepted Theo Coonrod’s decision to retire as Head of Saint Mary’s School at the conclusion of the 2012 school year,” says board chairman Trent Ragland. “During her years at Saint Mary’s, Theo has presided over the evolution of Saint Mary’s School into one of the premiere girls boarding and days schools in the nation; the creation and implementation of nationally-acclaimed signature academic advising, technology and life skills programs; a successful $30 million “Beyond Imagination” Capital Campaign; tremendous growth in the school’s Annual Fund; and the revitalization of Saint Mary’s historic campus, including dramatic renovations of historic Smedes Hall, West Rock and East Rock, and the completion of  the security fencing and gates around the entire campus. In just over a decade, she and her team took an up-and-coming boarding and day school with limited recognition in the independent school world and built it into a place of excellence with a national reputation on par with the best schools of its kind in the country. The Board of Trustees is planning a thorough and thoughtful nationwide search for the 13th Head of Saint Mary’s School. Thanks to Theo's leadership and work with our Board of Trustees, alumnae, parents, students, faculty and staff, Saint Mary’s will be an attractive school for a future head. We will search for a new leader from a position of strength in terms of our curriculum, programs, facilities, reputation, enrollment, financial stability and fundraising. We are blessed with the strong state of our school and are confident that there will be great interest by highly qualified candidates to become our next head of school.”

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Founded in 1842, Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, North Carolina, is an independent, Episcopal, college-preparatory, boarding and day school, dedicated to academic excellence and personal achievement for young women in grades 9-12.