Women Who Lead in K-12 Education: Hilary Robinson of St. Mary's Episcopal School
The headmistress of an all-girls' school is proud of how her school has both maintained traditions and created pathways for students to explore their passions.
The pandemic/post-pandemic period was the perfect time to show leadership.
The metro area's top administrators, educators and teachers have had to deal with a lot of uncertainty and upheaval. They are probably the hardest-working people in the city, second only to the health care workers.
Memphis Business Journal’s next group, Women Who Lead: Honoring the top female educators from kindergarten through grade 12 seemed like a logical choice.
It is also logical to highlight the achievements of women who have smashed through the glass-ceiling and helped define their organization.
The editorial team of MBJ has selected women who have qualities that define leadership. These include keeping school operations running smoothly, developing curriculums, and adjusting technology processes. They also possess the leadership necessary to promote student success in classrooms and on campuses.
The 10 Women Who lead honorees in K-12 education have held many different positions encompassing diverse experiences. This informs the way each educator approaches various aspects of leading a school or its programs.
Women Who Lead, a monthly feature sponsored by Paragon Bank in MBJ, is a continuing monthly feature.
Associate Head of School, St. Mary's Episcopal School
She has a unique perspective, as she is a St. Mary's 1990 alumna. She has 28 years of experience in education and 18 of them at St. Mary's. Now as associate head of school, she is especially proud that St. Mary's 'created paths for girls to explore passions while we have preserved the traditions of the School that so many alumni hold dear.
Hilary and her team are encouraging girls, no matter what subject they choose, to identify their strengths and talents to discover new opportunities and achieve their potential. Hilary's "most pressing professional objective" is to work with teachers to recover lost learning - social, academic, and emotional - that was caused by the pandemic.
Hilary is a St. Mary's girl who loves her school and believes that girls are amazing. I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment, knowing that we're giving girls every chance to become resilient, strong leaders in life.
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ChatGPT is one of the trends we are watching. Recently, we held a virtual Lunch-and-Learn for our parents on ChatGPT. Our teachers explained how this technology was being used around the world. It's clear that this technology is constantly evolving, and our students will need to know how to use AI in different contexts. We're also in discussion with other schools about how to teach students to use these technologies responsibly and honorably.