HEAD OF SCHOOL’S RESUME

Deborah Springpeace David, Head of School

Mrs. David was appointed Head of Marymount of Santa Barbara on July 1, 2006.

Debbi has a rich and somewhat unusual history in education. A graduate of Niagara University, in 1967 Debbi was invited to try her hand at teaching at the Convent of the Sacred Heart on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.  Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy, was one of her students there for three years; but Debbi is equally proud of her inner city work at South Park High School in Buffalo, NY; and of her track record in Wilton, Connecticut, where she was named Teacher of the Year; and of the world class chorus and soaring test scores achieved at Seven Hills Charter School in Massachusetts where she was the school’s Founder and first Principal.  She has taught court-remanded juvenile delinquents in New Jersey, the children of famous musicians, designers, artists and politicians in New York City, and the children of famous Broadway dramatists in Connecticut.

Since earning a Masters degree from Niagara University, Debbi has been a Junior High School Principal in Rochester, NY for seven years; Founding Principal of a large K-8 Charter School in Worcester, MA; and English teacher, Department Chair, and Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Curriculum and Instruction in Wilton, CT for a decade.

Moving into the hybrid world of business/school management with Edison Schools, Inc. of New York City, Ms. David was named Vice-President of Operations, and later Vice President for Principal Recruiting with the company.  Debbi hired more than 60 heads of school for Edison nationwide.  At Edison Schools, Inc., Debbi worked closely for ten years with Benno Schmidt, former President of Yale University; John Chubb, author and former teacher of the year at Stamford University; and Chris Whittle the founder of Edison Schools and former publisher of Fortune magazine to implement their vision of radical equity in education.  She also coached and mentored school principals nationally for the KIPP Foundation, broadly celebrated on 60 Minutes, where she also directed the School Inspection teams using the British model of school inspection and evaluation.

Debbi has spoken extensively at conferences and presented workshops in writing and innovation in administration.  She founded a lighthouse program for drug abuse treatment at South Park High School in New York State, leading eight students and teachers through intensive training in drug counseling.  She wrote the curriculum for African American Literature for the Buffalo Public Schools.  In Wilton, Debbi created and initiated the first Computer-Based Language Arts and Study Skills program.  At her charter school in Worcester in 1996, she placed a computer in the home of every student and provided Internet access at the school’s expense for any family needing it, fulfilling Edison’s vision of technological equity.

In 2003 Ms. David selected and supervised the principal, designed the curriculum and assessment processes, and developed policies at D.C. Preparatory Academy in Washington where she bore the title Director of Education.  Before accepting the position of Head of School at Marymount of Santa Barbara, Debbi served as Interim Head of School for a year at the Westerly School of Long Beach, a K-8 school accredited by both WASC and CAIS.

Mrs. David has acted and sung professionally and is married to the Rev. Dr. Ronald David.  They have survived the antics of four children, three grandchildren, and a three-year old Labradoodle named Kokie.   The David family currently resides in Ventura, California.