I write to bring you an update on our progress and planning for re-opening the campus in the fall. As you know, the public health situation in our region and throughout the southeastern US has deteriorated in the last few weeks. No doubt, it will continue to change in the seven weeks between now and the August 20th start of the school year.
We stand in community and solidarity with all who fight black inequality. We are collectively committed to making progress in this vital work.
Read our statement on diversity and inclusion.
That is why I chose to make racism the central focus of the most important Woodlawn speech of the year, Graduation, to show that fighting racism pertains directly to the school's mission and the work we share, educating leaders who will activate the words of our mission.
Winter 2020 was nothing less than spectacular for our Woodlawn Community. Our booster club thought it would be hard to beat our fall 2019, but in Woodlawn spirit and culture we had an amazing Winter!
I want to thank our school administrators, teachers, and volunteers…the fall and winter of 2019-2020 has surpassed the booster club’s vision we set out to accomplish back in the summer of 2019, and we could not do this without your support and help! We expect next year, when we are all back on campus, to be even greater and filled with many more amazing accomplishments!
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Board of Trustees of Woodlawn School is pleased to announce the selection of Paul Zanowski as our next Head of School, beginning July 1, 2019. Mr. Zanowski comes to Woodlawn from Kenston Forest School in Blackstone, Virginia, where he currently serves as Head of School.
The selection is the result of an extensive national search conducted by the members of the Board-selected Search Committee and assisted by Educational Directions, a search consulting firm based in Providence, Rhode Island. The committee selected three candidates as finalists who visited Woodlawn in January and met with students, faculty members, and parents. Mr. Zanowski received the enthusiastic support of the Board of Trustees, who made the final selection.
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Woodlawn sophomore Jackson McGeough dominated the North Carolina independent school 1A cross country scene this season and was an easy selection as 1A Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the NCISAA coach's association. In addition to winning the 1A state championship race, Jackson was undefeated in SPAA conference races this season. The Athlete of the Year honor is no stranger to Woodlawn, as Jackson's former teammates Quinn Schneider '17 and Tripp Berini '18 won the award in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Jackson's varsity cross country journey started even before he entered upper school - as an eighth grader, he set a personal best 5K time of 19:24 at the 1A state championship meet. More importantly, he placed 14th at that meet (fourth for Woodlawn). Normally, the fourth spot on any given team does not affect the team standings (in 1A competition, the top three runners for each team determine the team score), but in this meet both Woodlawn and Halifax ended up with 16 points and tied for first place. To break the tie, the fourth runner's finish for each team is used - and Jackson handily outran his counterpart from Halifax, allowing the Trailblazers to squeak by for their third straight state title.
As a freshman in 2017, Jackson amped up his training and lowered his personal best 5K time to 18:45, good for the #8 spot on Woodlawn's all-time 5K performance list. He achieved this mark at the SPAA Conference Championship meet, where he finished as the runner-up to teammate Berini. He followed up his All-Conference performance with a 3rd place finish at the 1A state meet in a nearly identical time.
This year, Jackson knew that the front-running responsibilities would fall on his shoulders, and he reported to practice in much better shape than his freshman season By mid-September, he had already equaled his 5K personal record from the previous year, spurring him on to work even harder. A couple weeks later at the United Way Invitational in Newton, Jackson ran a brilliant race in driving rain and sloppy conditions, finishing in a new personal best time of 17:46 and taking over the #5 spot on Woodlawn's all-time 5K list. The following week at the NCISAA 1A state meet, he dealt with terrible course conditions and a surprise contender from Greenfield School before powering across the finish line to win the individual title - the fourth straight year that a Woodlawn runner claimed that prize.
Coach Dwayne Bowman noted that Jackson clearly enjoys the team aspect of cross country and is quick to shift the focus from his individual honors to the team goals and achievements. Coach Bowman stated, “Jackson's only disappointment this year was that our team could not quite manage to win the state title - losing by a single point to an upset-minded Greenfield team. But his personal accomplishments this year were outstanding and I look forward to his continued improvement and team leadership over the next two years.”
Jackson was joined by three other Woodlawn runners as a 2018 first-team 1A All-State selection: Jesse Jacobson '20, Ally Fleming '19, and Adina Jacobson '23.
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Woodlawn is an independent school founded in 2002 and located just north of Davidson, North Carolina. Enrolling students in grades K through 12, Woodlawn is accredited by both the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and offers a challenging, project-based academic experience.
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) announced that Woodlawn's former Interim Head of School and current Board Member, Dr. Bob Shirley, has been selected as the recipient of its 2018 Distinguished Service Award. The award is given annually by SAIS to a head of school or senior administrator in recognition of a long and distinguished career in independent education.
Bob Shirley's journey through the world of independent school education spans over 50 years and has touched thousands of lives, especially in the Carolinas. A large portion of his career was spent at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, SC, where he was head of school from 1978-2000. From 2000-2012, Shirley was the executive director for the National Center for Independent School Renewal, but also held other school positions during that tenure. In 2000, he took on the role of interim head at Gaston Day School in Gastonia, NC, and in 2001 served as interim head at Bimmer and May School in Chestnut Hill, MA. In 2003-2004, Shirley took a short departure from education as the interim executive director at the Columbia Museum of Art. He served as head of Charleston Collegiate School in Charleston, SC, from 2005-2011, and as interim head at Woodlawn from 2014-2016.
"Bob came to Woodlawn at a critical juncture," stated Woodlawn Founder and former Board Chair Dwayne Bowman. "We were very fortunate to benefit from his wealth of experience and knowledge, as well as his down-to-earth and empathetic style of leadership. He succeeded in bringing together our school community and growing enrollment to the highest level in school history." Bob resides in Columbia, SC with his wife, Thrace. He has served on Woodlawn's Board of Trustees since 2016.
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Woodlawn is an independent school founded in 2002 and located just north of Davidson, North Carolina. Enrolling students in grades K through 12, Woodlawn is accredited by both the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and offers a challenging, project-based academic experience.