above
the mean
INTERVIEW WITH DAVID COE, HEAD OF ST. STEPHEN’S SCHOOL
BY: ANITA LONG
The Educational Shift and Moving Toward
the Personalization of Each Student
Anita: Thank you for allowing me to speak with you Mr. Coe. I am excited to learn more
about St. Stephen’s culture, mission and curriculum. Can you tell me how you became the
head of school and what brought you to St. Stephen’s?
David: It is my pleasure to speak with you as well. My journey first began when I
moved back to Houston in December of 1990. I had been in graduate school in California and was working in Educational Policy. I did my thesis out of medical school in San
Francisco and came back to Houston for family. I worked at MD Anderson in pediatrics
just a little over 20 years. While at MD Anderson, I rose from being a midlevel manager
to a senior administration within the hospital. I retired in September of 2011. By that
time, I was already on the school board at St. Stephen’s and was a member of the church
as well. While on the board, the previous head of the school resigned due to family
reasons and I volunteered to lead the search for the new head whereupon the chairman
of the board, the Reverand Lisa Hunt, asked if I would be interested in serving as the
interim head to get the school thru its changes. I accepted the interim position which
then led to being permanently offered the position, which I gladly accepted.
Anita: What led you to accept a more permanent role within the school?
David: I really enjoyed being around the students and the faculty. I also felt very passionate about the mission and vision of the school and where it was going. Also, I think
I brought a different level of experience to the position … good business skills, sea-
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