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Dear parents,

As I begin my first year as Head of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School, I am delighted to join an extraordinary and welcoming community dedicated to educating students from Nursery to Grade 8, the most formative years of their lives. It is with great joy and a sense of purpose that we advance what St. Patrick’s has accomplished during the last 65 years—a strong history of academic excellence within the Episcopal tradition, influenced and contextualized by an ever-changing world.

With beautiful learning spaces and a dynamic curriculum, every aspect of our program is thoughtfully designed with the unique needs of the young and adolescent learner in mind. Opportunities for academic excellence, creative expression, and service abound—in the classroom, in Chapel, on the athletic field, on stage, and in the wider Washington DC community.

Our exceptionally talented faculty and staff ensure that our vibrant inquiry-based curriculum is brought fully to life as they nurture students’ social-emotional and moral development. At the heart of their work is preparing engaged students to live with integrity, empathy, and purpose as well as a deep appreciation for the multiplicity of human experiences and identities that enrich our lives.

St. Patrick’s is an inclusive community committed to equity and justice. We educate students from a wide variety of experiences, including different ethnic, racial, cultural, religious, family, and socioeconomic backgrounds. 

Our students graduate as leaders poised to make a positive and lasting impact as highly sought-after members of their next school communities in the region and beyond.

We are pleased to offer a variety of opportunities for you to learn about the Day School. I hope you will be energized by what you read, hear, and see in your exploration of our campuses and this website. Please also visit us on Facebook, Instagram, and Vimeo. We are eager to draw you into the life of St. Patrick’s and share our important work with young people. We look forward to seeing you!

Jalene Spain ThomasHead of School
thomasjs@stpatsdc.org
 


 

About Jalene

Jalene is a seasoned educator and administrator with a two-decade career in Washington-area Episcopal schools. She comes to St. Patrick’s with an innate understanding of its fundamental values and a commitment to the development of the whole child as the work of the entire community. She brings her firsthand experience as a classroom teacher to her relationships with faculty, staff, and families with whom she joins in the pursuit of academic excellence.

 Jalene received her undergraduate degrees in psychology and art history from Duke University and a Masters in Private School Leadership from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Immediately before coming to St. Patrick’s, Jalene served as Director of Lower School at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School (SSSAS) in Alexandria, VA. Before that, she spent 16 years at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School, beginning as a Kindergarten teacher and ultimately becoming Assistant Head of School and serving as Acting Head of School during a time of leadership transition. 

At SSSAS, Jalene led an independent campus of more than 400 students and 70 faculty members. She expanded enrollment and was active in campus master planning. Using innovative and creative approaches, she furthered the development of a cohesive academic and social experience for students and parents across grade levels. 

An active leader in the broader Washington educational community, Jalene serves as Vice President of the Governing Board of the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal Schools Association (MAESA). She is a Trustee of St. James Academy in Monkton, Maryland, and an active mentor for emerging leaders through the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW). Jalene co-founded Administrators of Color in the Washington Metropolitan Area (AOC/DMV) and recently served as Vice Chair of the Board of the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys, where she volunteered alongside former St. Patrick's Head of School Peter Barrett.

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Meet Our Faculty and Staff

Meet Jalene

 

 

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