Episcopal Day School announced earlier this month its board of trustees has chosen David Perkinson to serve as the head of school.
“I feel a deep sense of responsibility to make the experience of every single student to be the best it can possibly be,” said Perkinson.
Perkinson’s experience in the field education spans 33 years across multiple independent schools across the Southeast.
Originally from Charlotte, N.C., Perkinson has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and philosophy from St. Andrews Presbyterian College, a master’s in math education from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from Penn State. Perkinson started his career in education as a math teacher before moving into administration.
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As a child, Perkinson said school was easy for him, but he needed to be challenged. He later attended the prep school his father and grandfather went to and credited that experience as helping to shape him into the person he is today.
“The challenge of education has been extremely engaging for me over the years,” he said.
This is Perkinson’s first time working in a school categorized as K-8. It’s an age group needs a healthy social-emotional environment, he said. If students don’t feel as if they have a sense of respect, it can hinder learning.
“If you don’t have an emotionally safe environment for kids, you are not going to get as much learning,” he said. “If they are not being respected by their peers in one way or another, then all of that becomes a distraction and eats away at the capacity anybody has to focus on the academics side.”
He said it is important for relationships to be built that would be beneficial for not only the academic growth for students but for social and emotional growth.
“The social-emotional goes hand in hand with the academic. We have to help kids be resilient and learn how to respond to setbacks because they’re going to have them. We have to help them develop strong, positive self-images and self-concepts,” he said. “You have to have a community of students that really support one another and truly respect one another.”
At the height of the pandemic, Episcopal Day School was able to maintain in-person learning within the recommend guidelines and precautions. Perkinson said this was beneficial for students and teachers because that same interaction can be difficult to replicate in a remote environment.
“In-person learning matters,” he said. “I think it just reinforced that relational part of teaching and the importance of it.”
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Perskinson said he wants students to know they are supported in an environment that cares and provides a quality education.
“I want them to have a belief in themselves,” he said. “I want the best for them.”
Speaking of the key role teachers play, Perkinson said he can relate to the challenges teachers encounter in their respective jobs.
“Having taught for so many years, I think I’ve done a pretty good job as I’ve moved into administration holding on to a sensitivity to the challenges that they face and what it’s like to teach,” he said. “I’m going to support their growth.”
As for the future of the school, Perkinson said he would like to see curriculums grounded in research with opportunities that enrich student learning.
According to Perkinson, the size and Southern feel of Augusta is rather appealing. He said that, interestingly enough, he has had the opportunity to work in other cities on rivers, including Chattanooga, Tenn., Little Rock, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La.
“Augusta is just the right kind of city for my wife and I,” he said.
