St. Andrew’s School will start this school year with a new Interim Head of School, but Kelley Waldron is definitely not a new face on campus. Starting out her 15^th year at St. Andrew’s, Waldron said she is looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence and commitment to technology. 

Known as one of Savannah’s top performing K-12 private schools, St. Andrew’s has already received prestigious awards like the Apple Distinguished School award for innovation, leadership and educational experience; STEM School Recognition for their commitment to STEM teaching and learning; and the Washington Post named the school to their list of most challenging high schools. 

While Waldron said she didn’t decide on a career in education until her later college years, it’s evident that once she made the decision, her dedication to curriculum became more than just a passion. Waldron said she came to St. Andrew’s in 2002 after finishing her master’s degree at Loyola University. 

“I was working at a boys’ school in New Orleans while doing my master’s program,” she said. “After I finished the program, my husband and I began looking at the next step in our careers.” They ended up in Savannah after discovering St. Andrew’s and Waldron came on board teaching Spanish in the upper school.

“I did my first two years as the Spanish teacher and was asked to step into an administrative role,” she explained. “Taking an administrative role at the school was something I had planned to do, but I was thinking it would be 20 years down the road. I didn’t expect it to come that fast.”

From there, Waldron has taken on roles as Director of Admission, Director of Studies and International Baccalaureate Program Coordinator. Her role the past four years was spent as  Lower School Head and Assistant Head of School. She has received awards for her work at the school including being named a Savannah Rising Star and an Excalibur Award Finalist. She is also the founder of the Teach the Future Fellowship.

“Teach the Future … is a fellowship we started a year ago,” she said. “It’s a meaningful way to connect our teachers with entrepreneurs in the community … It is a yearlong fellowship with educators … to connect them with resources, and then they have those resources to bring back to their classrooms.”

And Waldron said that it’s that unique approach to bringing strong resources to the campus that sets St. Andrew’s apart. “We are a strong community with strong relationships with our students and parents in everything we do.  Our approach is to look at, ‘How do we help each student reach their full potential and who they want to be?’” 

Waldron also said that what sets St. Andrew’s apart is their mission to open all programs of learning and activities to all their students so they have opportunities to find their passions. “We also have a great fine arts program … as well as sports and anyone can participate.

“If the students are motivated, then we are going to support them in that process. We will take the time to find a way to make it happen for them … and it is a very unique quality in a college prep setting for students to have access to all those components.

“… Our mission is to create lifelong learners who are going to go out and be good citizens and who have the tools and capacity to pursue their passions and dreams. We have one of the most impressive college acceptance lists in the area and … we have great early acceptance rates for UGA and Tech.”

And Waldron said the school’s commitment to bringing the latest technology to the classrooms is one of the top priorities for St. Andrew’s. She said they will continue that trend and continue to expand on technology-based programs in all grades by implementing new design programs like web design and 3D design.

“I am excited for this opportunity,” Waldron said. “St. Andrew’s is a school that I absolutely love. … I am invested in their future and I have children that go here. The school is a great school that is poised for even greater things. I’m looking forward to being a good steward for our community and serving our families and students.”