Jackson Jambalaya

Assistant Head of School Kevin Lewis will assume the interim position.

$20,640 tuition annually gets you the WorldCom accounting clerk as the interim.

better hire auditors...

St. Andrew's lost its way after George Penick retired. Sheppard never understood the school, the families, or the area, and many would say he never cared to. Hope the board does a better job with the next search. At those prices, the families deserve it.

Was he implicated? If not, why bring it up? You know something like 40,000 people worked at wcom

Good LORD, NOT the George Penick clone. Kevin Lewis' middle name is 'institutional malaise'. Don't trust Jason Greener as far as you can spit. Greener doesn't want a leader heading up the school, he wants a bowl of jello.

8:45 Yes, it does, BUT the absolute MOST important thing it gets you is an incessant, primary focus on the group-think goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion......oh, and if there's any time left over after trying to implement those most-critical goals, they'll also throw in a little education for your children.

Let it be remembered that The Cancel Culture succeeded in changing Headmaster to Head of School. Can't have folks perceiving a school as a plantation where there are strict control, rules, sanctions and decorum. Even bells ringing to announce lunch time.

$20,640 tuition annually gets you the WorldCom accounting clerk as the interim.

What the hell does that mean?

Notice one thing not mentioned?


Didn't know about the Headmaster to Head of School. I might change it back in the post.

From his resignation letter:

"...our commitment to inclusion in all of its forms is as strong as ever."

That pretty much says it all. A charter member of the group-thinking "cancel culturalists."

Are they using a "critical race theory" curriculum?

WTF are you talking about 'cancel culture'?

It's been head of school for as long as I can remember... at least 10 years.

Get a grip.

Well...that was a crappy investment St A made in their Headmaster...3 yrs.

Oh...I believe the Headmasters own school age kids..dont go to St As but rather still live up in NE or wherever (w or wo mom- i dunno). Yeah...pretty clear recipe for a short timer.

But But But....

"In 2020 Tom led the school in the creation of Together Saints, a community-wide effort to identify ways in which St. Andrew’s can continue to grow in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative"


Oh man....thats awesome there. Got to add that tag line to EVERYONE leaving any post.

The shift in terminology from Headmaster to Head of School happened close to 20 years ago.

calling the position "Head" is very disparaging to other body parts. Why not Leg of School? Or simply Person behind big desk? I'm triggered by all this

I'm a staff member at the school. Two things:

1) Tom Sheppard was a terrible cancer on St. Andrew's.  It's not easy to get people to agree on much of anything these days, but I've never seen such unanimity on a topic in my life.  It cuts across political boundaries, ethnicities, socioeconomic etc... pretty much the entire community.  I had many, many conversations yesterday with fellow staffers, parents, and some kids… all of them thrilled.  This was a great day for this school.

2) I'm not sure where the "Worldcom clerk" comment comes from, but as far as the staff is concerned, Kevin Lewis is universally liked and respected, despite holding a job for many years that requires him to make a lot of tough and sometimes unpopular decisions.  He was the perfect choice. We needed someone who will put some joy and mutual trust back into the daily routine.

My daughter started out at SA in 2008 and it was Head of School back then and probably well before then. So that's at least 13 years. Find something else to whine about.

Some of the commenters on this blog could benefit from a mind-expanding education, like the one offered at St. Andrews.I’m sure everyone knows that St. A is among the top 20 percent of independent schools in the USA. An incredible achievement for a state that is last in education and first in teen pregnancy, obesity, and poverty. Yes, I’d like cancel that culture and be first in education and last in the other three. Wouldn’t you? Some Mississippians need to get beyond their fear of knowledge. In the meantime, make sure you and your children are double vaccinated So that we can achieve herd immunity and get back to normal. Thanks everyone.

"... In the meantime, make sure you and your children are double vaccinated So that we can achieve herd immunity and get back to normal."

HaHaHa!

Newsworthy to St Andrew’s community. We received the emails.

Next.

Thank you for your sane comment above about the need to cancel Mississippi’s culture of last in education and first in poverty, obesity, and teen pregnancy. My children attend St. Andrews. Everyone we know has been impressed with Tom Sheppard, his vision, and his leadership skills, especially during the past year when educational leaders, teachers, staff, students, and families have been stressed on so many levels during the pandemic. So the report of the disgruntled staffer above is sad, but simply not true.

The Marxist dogma will live on-

I moved here to Mississippi from Vermont a couple of months ago. I always expected "culture shock" and man am I getting it. 1. People here are fat (and especially AA women good lord) and 2. People here are close minded, provincial and stupid. I have my colleagues back home reading this blog, and her comments for amusement.

@9:15 AM is pretty damn close to a bullseye.

Brent Alexander and Jon Seawright should applied for Sheppard's job and help their own children that go to SA. They can not be worse than the self-righteous leaders that we have had with Penick and Sheppard for all the many years that my own have been at SA. You get complacent with SA screwing us with bad leadership in the lower, middle and upper schools.
Seriously, Kevin Lewis is an asset to SA and might take us further.

Kevin Lewis is a good guy and has been at the school a LONG time. For those who made a Worlcom joke, what were you doing 19 years ago and are you the same person you were then you are now. I hope not.

What on earth are you people talking about? Pretty clear from the comments that most of you don't have a clue. Probably the same ones who can't get to their computer fast enough anytime something bad happens in Jackson, but are lined up at the Whole Foods to restock your McMansion in Cuckstadt. Sad!

I’m very confused about the WCOM accounting clerk comment. Since you used the term “clerk”, you must realize he was a clerk and had nothing to do with the masterminding of the fraud. It’s not like they hired Scott Sullivan. Gosh.

Will Manuel is a hero. As a local lawyer and former St Andrew’s parent, he cared enough about the school to listen to parents’ concerns and communicate those concerns to the board of trustees and senior administration. No way this would’ve come about without him. Gratefully this story has a happy ending. Kudos to Will!

12:06 who praised Sheppard’s “visionary leadership” and criticized the “disgruntled staffer” (me): maybe you should have been in the room when the announcement was made. There was standing ovation from the staff. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

Ah, I remember the good old days of the early 2010s when St. Andrews was the respected leader of education in the entire State and now the premier goals of the institution are diversity, equity and inclusion. My, my! I'm more and more convinced as the days go by that new liberalism is either a new religion or a mental disorder - haven't decided which just yet, but, certainly, the movement is not liberal. An even better question may be, 'why there are those dumb enough to pay that much in tuition when that goal of D,E, & I were more important goals than properly educating your children?'

@12:54 PM - the entrance to Mississippi is a two-way street. We don't need the progressive dogma from one of the most far left liberal states (Vermont) in the union. Don't let the door hit you on your backside on your return to your progressive woke inclusive utopia.

@11:00 AM - "herd immunity" equates to killing off the most vulnerable, Herr Doktor Mengele, which would be the elderly and medically compromised, ja?

How does Madison and Clinton high schools keep producing so many 36 ACT scores? Would those kids have learned that much more had they shelled out $20,000 per year?

Will Manuel shouldn’t have had to get involved. Parents should’ve been able to talk to the administration themselves but they were afraid of retaliation. And that concern was valid! Glad Will stepped up and relieve Shepard’s reign of terror and intimidation has ended.

Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, but we have this consolation:
The more difficult the struggle, the more glorious in the end will be our victory.
—Thomas Paine

@3:44 pm - They may produce accomplished scholars in Madison County - for free but, most importantly, are those graduates scholars in such fields as diversity, equity, and inclusion? If the students aren't, does any other scholastic achievement really matter?

Parents, teachers and students are so relieved. Best news ever!

Will Manuel has been so gracious with his time. He took dozens and dozens of calls and meetings with individual families. He sorted out all the issues. He really helped make this change possible. Great guy!

Tom Sheppard was NOT a good fir for St Andrew’s. Kevin Lewis understands the school culture and is a much better choice. Go Saints!

3:44 - so many kids produce ACT scores of 36 in Madison Central and Clinton High? Hope you account for the fact that the graduating classes in each of these two schools is roughly five times bigger than in SA. Hope you also look at long term trends, not cherry picking only one or two years. After all scores of 36 are rare and are therefore variable. You know, statistics. How about comparing the percentage of students that score 30 or higher. That would be a better metric. Too much work to find that out? Or to difficult to comprehend? I know, knowing a total number and not putting it into context is easier, and might benefit your narrative here. Everyone else who is a bit smarter, you know now what to look for...

"As the Chapel of St. Andrew the Apostle opens its doors this summer and Together Saints produces the first of many important initiatives, our commitment to inclusion in all of its forms is as strong as ever"

So does this mean they will include poor people, or do they still discriminate against them $20k+ at a time?

We have had multiple children at St. Andrew's for several years, but we seriously questioned whether we were getting our money's worth for the past two -- particularly the 20-21 school year. We didn't send our kids there to get a certain standardized test score and definitely not to inflate their GPAs. We did it because St. Andrew's offered a unique educational environment in this area.

When Sheppard came in, he amplified the worst parts of St. Andrew's while smothering the best. He was aloof, he was an egotist, and I'm sure he'll forever say that the school, city, state, etc. just wasn't sophisticated enough to appreciate his "vision" and to join him on a collective "journey."

This result is a testament to St. Andrew's having enough decent families left to say enough was enough. Too bad we had to endure 3 years of misery to get here.

The news of Tom Sheppard “resigning” has brought sooo much joy to my heart! He has done so much damage in the short time he’s been at SA. He actually caused MORE division, was a true biggot and a chauvinist. It’s, also, true that no one would speak out against him for fear of their jobs. Anyone foolish enough to think he was better than that, he thought you to be exactly that - a fool, which is why he chose to present himself differently to you. He spent so much time being PC for appearances and micro-managing everyone in regards his agenda instead of supporting and ensuring we have the best faculty to provide the top education we pay for. He should’ve been thinking of ways to keep student and faculty, instead of running them off. How many resignations because of “other opportunities popping up” did we have this year? Or invalid terminations with no exit reviews to back up his just cause? Over 25 this year.... how many over the past 3 years? He was a cancer to SA. We were on our way out if he stayed any longer. I’m glad they “found” the negative reviews that weren’t presented beforehand and I’m ecstatic he’s gone!

4:58 - since they do not receive government money (our taxes), they have to take something. How else do you think they could run a school? Dreaming of communism? Btw, they have a scholarship program...

Hey, how about that PPP going towards calculators and books, etc to lend students each year like it used to be done in the dark ages. Especially, considering our tuition is more than college tuition and we obviously aren’t getting back any portion of our consolidated fees for things that never happened, i.e. field trips, buses for trips, dances, etc.

This has been the second year an overnight field trip has been canceled.

You can not even talk about ACT scores unless you know how many were taken untimed. Two different test.

St.A = total racket.

Hey you from Vermont. Get you a pair of stretchie pants and join us fatties here in missippi.

Jason Greener is the chairman of the board? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
That’s rich

@5:27pm How about all schools explain where their PPP loans went or if they were forgiven? Could be interesting.

5:54 When did ACT become an untimed test? Is that why Madison Central has 142 students with a 30 ACT or better?

4:54 et al with the goofy line about Madison Central and Clinton being so much bigger than St A.

Get a grip. MC and Clinton are public schools, and have to take any kid that shows up. All the St. A. parents that shell out 21k/year care about the kids' school and study habits. The public schools don't have that luxury of every parent being concerned.

How many parents shell out 21k a year for kids who aspire to bear illegitimate children as a career? The public schools have plenty of such girls. Every kid at St. A expects to go to college and a high percentage expect to earn advanced degrees, not so for every public school kid.

A better comparison for St. Andrews would be the MS School for Math and Science which is smaller school, but this year produced almost triple the number of National Merit semi-finalists as St. Andrews.

I'd bet that MC and Clinton have a similar number of families with a like level of passion for education.
Yet I'll readily concede that St. Andrews produces more hubris that do MC. Clinton and the MS School for Math and Science.

11:08 - correct, at the end any comparison between these school is moot, it’s always like comparing apples and oranges. But the same is true if you compare SA with MS School of Math and Sciences. SA is a local day school and draws kids from close by. MSMS is a boarding school that draws kids from all over MS. I know many think SA is selective. Well, most of the graduating class was selected as three year olds, biggest question then was could they use the toilet. MSMS is truly selecting, they test their kids when they enter in grade 10. Also, SA is an all around school, humanities, art and sports are as important to them as is math and science. MSMS is a school focusing on math and science only. Apples and oranges. Short, stop comparing. Send your kids to whatever school you want, whatever school they like.

I've read every post this morning. 95% of what comes across is pure damned arrogance. And this is the same arrogance your children will carry into the next phases of their lives.

But, now we've heard about HEADS of school from HEADS of dongs. So there's value here, after all.

People send their kids to St. A and the like for a unique, high caliber education and to separate them from the riff-raff of public schools. It is the same for the most part with "elite" universities. All of this arguing of public vs. private is a waste otherwise.

The proudest boast of a St. Andrew grad is to be able to say they were "Alpha Omega" graduates, ie, there from through all grades. Mississippi should be proud that St. A's is among the top 20 such schools in the Nation.

The best damn slightly better than average education that money can buy in Mississippi. You've dropped nearly $250K and are convinced your student's head is above the crowd.

Grown adults getting into a spat about the quality of area high schools is the type of thinking that guarantees Mississippi will remain dead last in meaningful measures. It's the same narrow-minded thinking that makes people who live in suburbs of Jackson celebrate Jackson's demise.

I don't know how many good high schools there are in the area. I'm confident it's not enough. The largest area school district sucks. That's not a win for the other schools and districts. Everyone loses regardless of where we send our kids to school.

I don't know how to reverse Jackson's decline. But I'm positive the decline is bad for everyone in the Metro area--even people who live 30 miles from downtown and rarely enter the city limits.

The Stupid is strong in these commenters.

For the most part, I would bet that the commenters on this blog fall into two groups: those who believe that Russian and Chinese propaganda is fact-based journalism; that Mississippi should’ve kept the confederate flag as the state symbol; that the coronavirus is not real and the vaccine is a dangerous weapon offered by government to control us; that the elections were rigged; that an educator from the northeast who sends his children to boarding school must have an evil “liberal” agenda; and that Obama is not a native-born US citizen because he was born in Hawaii. Then, there’s the other group of people who believe that education is not simply based on what you yourself already know. Fear of knowledge is a real problem here. Good luck.

Proceed with caution St. A., that beloved board member may just be your next head of school.

If you're going to go down that path, 10:50, do it right. It's been the lefties and their friends in the media who've been buying the Chinese propaganda.

I used to go to St. Andrews. Everyone is EXTREMELY academically competitive and politics are a big deal from the get go!! People would fight about politics when we were in 7th grade! And it wasn’t even useful conversation, it was pointless arguing about topics people barely knew. If you struggled academically, you were an outcast. If you didn’t have the liberal view, you were an outcast. If you weren’t as rich as the others, you were an outcast.

Just found this thread and am extremely disheartened by the slander that is being hurled at St. Andrew's. I graduated from St. Andrew's in the last five years. I am a conservative Christian and my time at St. Andrew's could not have been more wonderful. None of my teachers agreed with my worldview and yet they treated me with respect and encouraged me to learn how to defend my beliefs. I was never an outcast and my extremely liberal teachers supported me and encouraged me to the fullest extent. Because of St. Andrew's, I got a full ride to college and a full ride to law school. I am also able to more clearly articulate my belief system because my views were challenged. Sure, the school can sometimes sway too far into the DEI stuff, but the good at St. Andrew's far outweighs the bad. Kevin Lewis is a great guy and the school is in good hands after a rough stretchn under Sheppard.