Dr. Ann Wolcott was the long-time middle school director before Mr. Erby.  When she retired two years ago, she left a large hole to be filled in the middle school. As many teachers put it, she gave the middle school a “special warm fuzzy” feeling. Luckily, Saint Stephen’s found Mr. Erby, who is currently doing great things as the new middle school director.

I recently sat down with Mr. Erby to ask him a few questions in order to get to know him, and I was pleasantly surprised by his responses.

Q: Can we have a short biography on you Mr. Erby?

A: I’m originally from Detroit, Michigan. My career started off in the mental health field, and I went to Eastern Michigan University and ran track there. Then I joined the Navy off the cuff. I got a chance to travel the world, and I lived in Japan, Australia, and Singapore.

As soon as I finished the navy, I went right back to school. I finished my degree in psychology and moved to Florida. I was a crisis case manager for a hospital, and I did that for a while. Then when I had my son, I moved back to Michigan and started coaching just to be around the school. Then I went back to school again and got a teaching degree in history and social science.

I taught for six years then became an assistant principal and assistant athletic director. After that, I moved to North Carolina where I became the director of a charter school. After five years I came here and I’m currently working on my doctorate in organizational leadership at USC. So far I have been enjoying my time at Saint Stephen’s.

Q: Why did you choose to work at Saint Stephen’s?

A: Funny story, I actually took a year off to start my doctorate program, and I wasn’t really looking for a specific job. I just happened to come across the Saint Stephen’s website. So I emailed Dr. Pullen and I asked her where to find employment on the website because it wasn’t on there. She said that they didn’t have any jobs open at the time. I just happened to have sent my resume, and she said that they would be looking for a middle school director soon. And here I am.

Q: A lot of people talk about the Saint Stephen’s community. How would you describe it?

A: I would describe it as a very welcoming community, a community that cares for all of its students, parents, and stakeholders. Everybody has the ability to do great things and teach children to be greater than the people who are teaching them and parenting them. We want the best for you as students.

Q: What inspires you?

A: I think my own children inspire me to be the best person I can be, and the best dad that I can be. Also, I think all the children inspire me. You get up every day to figure out what can you learn from them, more than what can you teach them. And sometimes you are surprised and amazed by all the small subtle things you can learn from a student just based off a conversation. And you learn a lot of things about yourself too, just by trial and error. I think that is something that really inspires me: just being able to find out different things about yourself and how I can better improve myself as both an educator and as a human being.

Q: If you could take the students on a field trip anywhere in the world, where would you take them?

A: I would probably start off in Perth, Australia because it’s the best place and the coolest place. Then I would swing through Singapore. Singapore is very high tech and it’s very clean, probably one of the cleanest countries I have ever seen in my life. If you throw a piece of paper down, you can get fined like 500 dollars. Then we would go to Thailand, and I know there’s a conception of Thailand tourism and everything. But the country part of it, the ocean part of it, is just a beautiful place to see some great sights.

Q: Is there a quote or saying that you live by?

A: Yes, this quote is by James Baldwin. He said: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”  And I use this as a motivation for how I approach life and how I approach difficult challenges. Me being 44 years old, I have seen it from the very worst to the very best, and in each of those, there are lessons to be learned. I come from a rough background, so this quote has really embedded in my heart and soul of what it really means. And learning that I don’t have to be a victim of my circumstances.  I can alter my circumstances or change them for the better, and I’m in control of that. Some things you can’t control, but you can always control how you react to certain things that you can’t control.

Q: Do you have any advice for high school students?

A: I do as a former high school principal. I would say the best thing to do is to enjoy what you do and to enjoy being a student of learning, enjoy being a student of life, and don’t take things for granted. I think we all do at some point because we are at a stage where we are trying to figure out who we are, so there is a rebellious streak in us that says I want to find out who I am for myself and not listen to what everybody else says. But I think you have to be very cautious about that and be understanding that the people around you are trying to guide you and have been through something that they didn’t experience well or that they see a lot of potential out of you.

Q: Do you have any special talents, if so what are they?

A: I write poetry. I won a couple of contests in college, and I play the piano a little bit.

Q: What ways can middle schoolers prepare themselves for high school?

A: Time management and organization. Those are the two things that if they learn what that truly means, it is not going to just be something that is helpful in high school but for the rest of their lives.

Our new middle school director encourages students to do the best they can. The students in our middle school are excited for the school year and there changes Mr. Erby will bring to them. Mr. Erby’s remarkable and interesting background combined with his creative and upbeat spirit makes him a perfect fit for middle school. We gladly welcome Mr.Erby to the Saint Stephen’s community.