Lee Burns serves as headmaster of Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent school serving over 630 boys in grades PK-6 in Memphis.

A Chattanooga, Tennessee, native, Burns graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, and he earned his master’s degree in educational administration at Harvard. He has also studied at the London School of Economics and worked at a law firm in New York City. Prior to being appointed PDS headmaster in 2000, he served as a teacher, coach and administrator at Christ School in North Carolina and as the Director of Day Student Admission at the McCallie School in Chattanooga. He currently serves on the Executive Committee and as Vice-President of the Elementary School Headmasters Association (a group of approximately 200 headmasters around the country), and he is a member of the Country Day School Headmasters Association and the Visionary Heads Group. He served as a task force member to help the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) develop Principles of Good Practice for Middle School Educators. He has been a presenter at annual conferences of the National Association of Independent Schools, the International Boys’ School Coalition, and the Elementary School Headmaster Association.

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Susan Droke currently serves as Assistant Headmaster for Teaching and Learning at Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent all boys’ school located in Memphis, TN.

Susan, a lifelong Memphian, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Memphis with a degree in elementary education. She returned to the University of Memphis and also earned her master’s degree in education with an emphasis in reading instruction.

During her teaching career in both public and independent schools, Susan has filled the roles of kindergarten, first and second grade teacher, as well as reading specialist and gifted education teacher.

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Debbie Isom currently serves as the Head of Early Childhood at Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent all boys’ school located in Memphis, TN.

Debbie earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, FL.  Upon returning to Tennessee, she added an Early Childhood endorsement from the University of Tennessee and earned a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Memphis.

She began her teaching career as a teacher of four and five-year-old kindergarten students; however, the next twenty years of her teaching career was spent teaching first grade at Hutchison School, an independent all girls’ school in Memphis.  As an administrator at Hutchison School, Debbie served as the Head of Early Childhood for three years, supervising Pre-Kindergarten through second grade, and two years supervising Senior Kindergarten through Fourth Grade before joining the administrative team at PDS in 2005.

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Mark Fruitt serves as Elementary Principal of Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent school serving over 630 boys in grades PK-6 in Memphis.

Born and raised in Memphis, Fruitt earned his undergraduate and master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Memphis. Before coming to PDS in 2004, he served as a teacher, head varsity boys basketball coach, assistant varsity football coach and Dean of Students at First Assembly Christian School. Also during this time, he served as director of the family life center at First Assembly of God Church.

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Steve Hearn serves as Chief Advancement Officer at Presbyterian Day School (PDS) of Memphis, TN, one of the country’s leading independent schools for boys. As Chief Advancement Officer at PDS, he is responsible for overseeing all institutional initiatives related to enrollment, fundraising, marketing, alumni and parent programs, and strategic planning.

Steve has a wide range of advancement experience, both in independent schools and institutions of higher education. Prior to joining PDS, he served as Assistant Headmaster for Institutional Advancement at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga.

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Jill Kauffman serves as Chief Financial Officer at Presbyterian Day School (PDS) of Memphis, TN.  PDS is one of the country’s leading independent schools for boys. As Chief Financial Officer at PDS, she is responsible for overseeing all financial aspects of the school’s operations.

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Cathy Kyle serves as Chief Information Officer of Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent school serving over 630 boys in grades PK-6 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kyle, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, graduated magna cum laude from Memphis State University (now University of Memphis) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. She earned a master’s degree in educational technology from Lesley University (Cambridge, MA). She began her career at PDS in 1991 as a computer teacher. She became Director of Technology in 1997 and was named CIO in 2009. Prior to her career at PDS, she worked at Leader Federal Savings and Loan (now Regions Bank) as a Business Systems Analyst and trainer.

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Dennis Smith serves as Director of Athletics and Operations at Presbyterian Day School (PDS) of Memphis, TN, one of the largest elementary boys' schools in the country.

Dennis, born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, graduated from The University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. He began his career at PDS in 1987, spending the last 22 years teaching, coaching and mentoring students.

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