THE Kinkaid School
“They had to be meaningful all the way through, from the children in kindergarten to the faculty and administration, and the leaders of the School. They had to be more than words someone says, but words everyone in the Kinkaid family could live out in their daily lives.” North believes formalizing the four core values—honesty, respect, responsibility and kindness—was very important to sustaining Kinkaid’s mission and was personally a significant milestone in his tenure at Kinkaid, equal to the one marked by the School’s physical enhancements. “Obviously, they were very important to Mrs. Kinkaid,” North says. “We talk about the values in terms of community service, in terms of student discipline, and in terms of professional standards for faculty and staff. We ask ourselves how are we modeling them and how are we not.” While Kinkaid’s exterior reached new heights, within its walls a heartbeat—students and faculty —continued to seek new levels, according to the goals set forth in the School’s statement of philosophy: intellectual endeavor, achievement, and the pursuit of a well-rounded education that includes experiences in the arts, athletics and a variety of extracurricular activities. North underscores the value of Kinkaid’s traditional college preparatory curriculum but notes that in the last 17 years there have been significant changes in the use of technology by teachers in the classroom, the offering of more languages and electives, and the expansion in range and depth in the arts and athletics.
Trustee Tom Simmons characterizes North as a leader among leaders, saying that his day-to-day calm, poised and friendly manner is what he always will remember. “Don’s ability to maintain his demeanor and spirit and good-natured attitude at such a high level is just astounding to me.”
He credits the exceptional faculty with maintaining the rigor expected at a school of Kinkaid’s esteem and challenges them to find innovative approaches to meet the ever-changing, technologically advanced and global world. North mentions that “maintaining and enhancing the high quality of the faculty and staff ” is another noteworthy milestone during his tenure.
Jeanne Alsup, upper school English teacher, who joined Kinkaid in 1983 when North served as Upper School Principal, recognizes that his keen understanding of children, especially of the wide variety of children at Kinkaid, came from time in the classroom. “You almost have to have been in the classroom to have that sense because you get a much better view of kids when you’re teaching,” she says, “and Don had some really good kids and some really challenging kids…and I think he understood them too, so when he became headmaster, he knew how to handle that.” Head Upper School Dean, Robin Doran, characterizes North as understanding in his leadership of the administrative team as well. “He is extremely trusting and doesn’t micromanage,” she says. “He also does a really good job of hiring people who are good at what they do and then figuring out how he can help them grow.”
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With third Headmaster Glenn Ballard
By 2006, there was much to celebrate. As Kinkaid marked its centennial, North would not merely reflect on the School’s accomplishments during his last 10 years as headmaster, but also would continue to carry the mission of Kinkaid forward and to embolden others to do the same. “I always think leaders are there at the right time for the right reason; history has proven that for the most part,” says Emily Crosswell ’59, who co-chaired the Centennial Celebration Steering Committee with husband and Life Trustee Holcombe Crosswell ’58. “What I love about Don’s leadership is that he trusted us, invited us to chair the centennial. To orchestrate the 100-year celebration of any organization, but particularly an organization as well known in our city as Kinkaid, is an awesome responsibility. He supported us in all our crazy ideas and in our very fine ideas.” The Centennial Celebration is one of two events, along with the dedication of the Lenny C. Katz Performing Arts Center in 2012, that Board of Trustees Chairman Tad Mayfield ’81, a Kinkaid “lifer” whose family spans three generations at the School, will forever remember. “Alumni came in from all over the country for both those events because they feel gratitude toward Kinkaid and for what it’s done for them. This is the ripple effect that occurs at a great school,” he says. “I don’t think we can measure the impact that a Kinkaid education has, not only
With (l-r) Eddie Leonard, Wes Hohenstein and John Friday when Eddie received KPRC Sunshine Award in 2005