Mason Lecky
St. Christopher’s School has chosen a Richmond native and Collegiate School graduate as its seventh headmaster.
After more than 20 years away from Richmond, Mason Lecky was selected to lead the West End boys’ school, following a four-month national search to replace longtime headmaster Charley Stillwell.
Lecky, who grew up across the street from St. Christopher’s on Pepper Avenue, will enter his position as headmaster on July 1, 2016, when Stillwell will leave for the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.
“I’ve known of that school my whole life and an opportunity to lead an esteemed school with a bright future was too difficult to pass,” Lecky said.
Currently the head of school at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in New Orleans, 39-year-old Lecky will return to Richmond with his wife, daughter and two sons, who will both attend St. Christopher’s.
The search for a new headmaster began in June. A committee consisting of 11 members and a team from the Chicago-based consulting firm Spencer Stuart conducted the search.
By September, an update from the school stated that 75 candidates had been vetted, and it soon narrowed that list to 10 semi-finalists before selecting Lecky.
After attending Collegiate, Lecky received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s from Harvard. He worked at the all-boys St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., for 10 years as a teacher, coach and administrator.
He became the head of school at St. Andrew’s in New Orleans in 2009 and led the school in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When he arrived, the school was still recovering and enrollment was down to 140 students; it’s now up to 190.
“The school has always had a very loving heart and a wonderful culture and spirit, and it simply required leadership and guidance in the aftermath of Katrina,” Lecky said of St. Andrew’s.
During his first year at St. Christopher’s, Lecky said he wants to get to know the school, students and faculty as he becomes integrated into the culture. He plans to continue “the positive trajectory of a very storied and well-established school,” he said.
His long-term plans include continuing valuable partnerships that Stillwell and his team created, as well as creating new partnerships with the city and various nonprofits to “make St. Christopher’s known and valued in the entire metro Richmond area.”
“It is very important to me that St. Christopher’s is and becomes a school of the city of Richmond,” he said.
Founded in 1911, St. Christopher’s currently has 1,006 students between pre-kindergarten and grade 12. Tuition for students in grades nine through 12 was $25,000 for the 2015-16 school year. As of July, its endowment was $61 million.
Mason Lecky
St. Christopher’s School has chosen a Richmond native and Collegiate School graduate as its seventh headmaster.
After more than 20 years away from Richmond, Mason Lecky was selected to lead the West End boys’ school, following a four-month national search to replace longtime headmaster Charley Stillwell.
Lecky, who grew up across the street from St. Christopher’s on Pepper Avenue, will enter his position as headmaster on July 1, 2016, when Stillwell will leave for the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.
“I’ve known of that school my whole life and an opportunity to lead an esteemed school with a bright future was too difficult to pass,” Lecky said.
Currently the head of school at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in New Orleans, 39-year-old Lecky will return to Richmond with his wife, daughter and two sons, who will both attend St. Christopher’s.
The search for a new headmaster began in June. A committee consisting of 11 members and a team from the Chicago-based consulting firm Spencer Stuart conducted the search.
By September, an update from the school stated that 75 candidates had been vetted, and it soon narrowed that list to 10 semi-finalists before selecting Lecky.
After attending Collegiate, Lecky received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s from Harvard. He worked at the all-boys St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., for 10 years as a teacher, coach and administrator.
He became the head of school at St. Andrew’s in New Orleans in 2009 and led the school in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When he arrived, the school was still recovering and enrollment was down to 140 students; it’s now up to 190.
“The school has always had a very loving heart and a wonderful culture and spirit, and it simply required leadership and guidance in the aftermath of Katrina,” Lecky said of St. Andrew’s.
During his first year at St. Christopher’s, Lecky said he wants to get to know the school, students and faculty as he becomes integrated into the culture. He plans to continue “the positive trajectory of a very storied and well-established school,” he said.
His long-term plans include continuing valuable partnerships that Stillwell and his team created, as well as creating new partnerships with the city and various nonprofits to “make St. Christopher’s known and valued in the entire metro Richmond area.”
“It is very important to me that St. Christopher’s is and becomes a school of the city of Richmond,” he said.
Founded in 1911, St. Christopher’s currently has 1,006 students between pre-kindergarten and grade 12. Tuition for students in grades nine through 12 was $25,000 for the 2015-16 school year. As of July, its endowment was $61 million.