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Trinity Christian Academy Announces New Student Leadership Program, New Chief Academic Officer, and Other Faculty Updates for Upcoming School Year

Head of School shares announcements and milestones for the 2023-2024 school year

ADDISON, Texas – September 20, 2023 – Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) in Addison has launched a new program that helps develop leadership skills in senior students and is making exciting changes to the school’s staff for the new year.

TCA’s head of school, Dr. Jeff Williams, announced the introduction of a prefect system for the 2023-2024 academic year, allowing Upper School students to develop leadership skills within various areas of campus life including academics, admissions, publicity, service, student life and unity. Each student leader will recruit and oversee a committee of students devoted to pursuing TCA’s mission. This year’s prefects include:

Head prefect: Molly Youn, Coppell; Academic prefect: Kylie Jones, Dallas; Admission prefect: Lucy Dennis, Plano; Publicity prefect: Aidan Mills, Plano; Service prefect: Kassadi Brown, Frisco; Student Life prefect: Will Lehman, Dallas; Unity prefect: Lulu Janson, Dallas.

Williams also announced several changes to staff and leadership roles, introducing Fran Legband as the school’s new chief academic officer. Legband joined TCA in 2001 as an Upper School history and English teacher. She has held many leadership roles over the years including serving as history and English department chairperson.

Alongside Legband, TCA has made several internal promotions, elevating these teachers and staff into key leadership roles. Steve Mercer has been promoted to Upper School dean of students, while Bob Dyer is now the director of biblical worldview and immersion. Kaylen Morrison will serve as the new athletic operations director and junior varsity girls basketball coach after serving as an assistant coach for the varsity girls basketball team. John Price and Pat Leach are joining the athletic administration staff as assistant athletic directors after helping their respective programs reach new heights last year.

Also in athletics, Rachel Faldyn and Hayward Lee have been hired as strength and conditioning coaches, while Shannon Mathis has been named assistant athletic director and varsity girls basketball coach, and Wes Tarbox has joined as athletic chaplain. TCA is also recognizing two new athletic hires from the spring: Claire Schmidt, who was hired as program and varsity dance coach, and Megan Elgie, who was hired as program and varsity volleyball coach.

Outside of the athletics department, TCA has made several other administrative and academic new hires. Administrative new hires include: Christine Metoyer, assistant head of Upper School; Kevin McConaghy, director of marketing and communications; Maci Winters, events and development coordinator; Jennifer Lipman, Big Blue assistant; Cindy Hallman, school nurse; Eliza Bayliss, business office administrative assistant; Kayla Turk, auxiliary programs administrative assistant; Clarissa Wong, publications coordinator/graphic designer; and Nikki Stuart, campus operations administrative assistant.

Academic new hires include: Meredith Cole, kindergarten teacher; Carolyn Finnie, Skylar Worley and Emily Tong, first grade teachers; Kelsey Gordon, second grade teacher; Kathryn Smith, Angela Stone, and Meredith Claudio, lower school teaching assistants; Kelly Sullivan, middle school academic resource assistant; Seth Nymeyer, middle school history/English teacher; Crysta Crum, middle school history/math teacher; Leslie Blum, Upper School choral director; Melanie Townsend, Upper School library assistant; Allison Albani, Upper School Spanish teacher; Danielle Floyd, Upper School physics teacher; and Zane Nelson, Upper School Bible instructor.

“This year holds much promise for our TCA family,” said Williams. “I look forward to seeing our faculty and staff work to develop committed disciples who teach with their words and their lives, while our students develop leadership skills that will carry them forward through their education and future careers.”

About Trinity Christian Academy

Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) is a private coeducational school for grades PreK–12 which offers Christian families and their children a demanding, college preparatory curriculum within a Christian community committed to integrating biblical faith and learning. To learn more, visit www.trinitychristian.org.