New Interim Head of Friends' Central School Beth D. Johnson '77

On January 8, James C. Wright, Clerk of the Board of Trustees, announced to the School community on behalf of the Board that Beth D. Johnson ’77 will be stepping into the role of Interim Head of Friends’ Central School beginning July 2021. Craig N. Sellers completes his nine-year tenure as Head of School at the end of this school year.

In his message, James Wright described Beth Johnson as a “gifted, seasoned, and visionary leader.” She brings with her a wealth of talent and school leadership experience, along with a genuine warmth and natural exuberance that make her ideally suited to the role. Currently serving as Upper School Principal, Beth is a proud “lifer” who first joined the Friends’ Central community in 1963, when she entered the School as a nearly four-year-old. One of her earliest memories is of sitting in the Kindergarten classroom – now a Middle School teaching and conference space – looking up at the Noah’s Ark mosaic above the fireplace which can be found there to this day.

When reflecting on her Friends’ Central education, Beth noted the impact it has had on her own life. She values the combination of the academic preparation and Friends values she learned as a student and remarked they have guided her decisions and kept her at Friends’ Central for all these years. “The testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends have been in my heart and helped inform all aspects of my life – professional as well as personal,” Beth said. “Unique to Friends’ Central is the way continuing revelation (the Quaker belief that new truth is revealed to us as we continue our spiritual journeys individually and with one another) plays such an important role in everything we do. This particular testimony will be at the forefront for me as I take on this new role.”

Read more about Beth, her long list of accomplishments, and her vision for the school here.