ready to roll

Jeff Dunnington smiles when he sees in his mind’s eye his 17-year-old self with a big wide world and opportunities galore lying before him.

“I loved my time at Collegiate, but the thought of being in school my whole life was not exactly at the top of my mind in high school,” said the 2001 graduate who spent 13 years as a student on North Mooreland Road. 

“My best friends are Collegiate grads, for sure, but if you’d told me back then that I’d be working in the Middle School when I was 40 years old, I probably would have smirked and said, ‘Yeah, right.’”

Yet here he was this August morning, sitting in his bright, inviting, freshly decorated office in Flippen Hall, 17 years and counting into his career in education and a month-plus into his appointment as head of his alma mater’s Middle School.

Dunnington’s professional change of heart — perhaps it was more a matter of following his heart — came in the months after he graduated from Sewanee (B.A. in history), lived in Mountain View, California, and worked in the tech industry in Silicon Valley.

“While I was out there,” he said, “I knew that, A, I wanted to own a house one day, and it probably wasn’t going to happen there, and, B, I wanted to teach and coach.”

His inspiration, he had come to understand, was a combination of close and enduring connections, experiences, and the culture at both Collegiate and Camp Virginia.

“Having been a camp person forever as a camper and counselor until I was 30, I realized that I enjoyed working with kids,” he said. “I enjoyed teaching but also the daily interaction with kids who are this [middle school] age. They can be at their best or their worst at any moment. Nothing’s ever the same. I enjoyed that it was always changing.”

When he returned to Richmond, he split time between St. Christopher’s and Collegiate during the 2006-2007 school year as a coach and substitute teacher, always pitching in wherever his services were needed.

The next two years, he interned as an E.E. Ford Fellow, working in Collegiate’s Middle School with iconic English/history teacher John Coates. 

“Learned the ropes,” Dunnington said. “Learned John’s style of teaching. Very formative years for me.”

His second year, he also served as an 8th Grade advisor and taught a history class. In year three, he taught a full complement of 8th Grade history classes, continued as an advisor, and coached in the boys soccer, basketball, and lacrosse programs.

He was all-in, not just an educator but as a Collegiate educator.

As time passed, he continued to find joy teaching and coaching, earned an M.A. in history from Virginia Commonwealth University, and received the 2016 Andrew J. Brent Award, presented annually to the career educator “who exemplifies the teacher, coach, mentor, counselor, and friend model that is so vital to an independent school.”

Along the way, he also served in several Middle School administrative capacities, first as history department chair, then 8th Grade-level coordinator, and this past year as dean of students.

“[School administration] was always on my mind,” Dunnington said, “but it wasn’t necessarily something I aspired to. I certainly had conversations with Charlie [Blair, who headed the Middle School for 29 years until his retirement in 2019] about the long-term. At one point, I probably even said to him that I wanted to move in an administrative direction.”

Dunnington never considered leaving home for professional advancement, however.

“I’m a Collegiate person first,” he said. “The School obviously did a whole lot for me. I love the Collegiate community. I wasn’t going to a different school or a different town. I’d much rather be here. Here…in the Middle School.”

Dunnington succeeds Tung Trinh, who succeeded Blair and headed the division for four years before his appointment as dean of faculty.

“I’ve been at Collegiate for three-quarters of my life,” Dunnington said. “I’ve seen the School from all sorts of angles. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted the job. I still get to work with kids, which is great, but I love that I get to work with the teachers in a different capacity. I love that I get to work with the Upper School and the Lower School and have interactions with the Business Office and the physical plant. My job is much more open to the entire school. I’m really looking forward to that.

“It’s great that I know the School so well, but at the same time, Collegiate’s going to get better. It’s won’t stay the same. We’ll keep the good, but we want to see what else is out there and explore other ways to do things and see what fits here.”

While he’ll continue to assist with JV basketball, Dunnington has relinquished the reins of the golf team, which won two Prep League and two VISAA championships in the past three years and recently finished fourth in the PGA High School Golf National Invitational in Frisco, Texas.

“Stepping back from golf and from the history classroom is what I like least,” he said. “On the flip side, I’ll be able to get out to more Middle School events than I’ve ever been to and see golf matches from a distance.”

Challenges lie ahead, of course, but Dunnington welcomes them.

“Honestly,” he said, “the toughest part has just been the anticipation of the kids getting here. I’m really excited to start and get in the flow of the school year. The routine in the Middle School is never routine. Something new comes in the door every single day. That’s part of the excitement for a history teacher and for an administrator.”

Dunnington brings to his new role a calm, unflappable demeanor, a willingness to listen, and an ability to connect positively with the constituencies whom he serves. 

He’s perceived as fair, respectful, and grateful for the opportunities that his efforts have afforded him. He approaches his calling with a “What’s-best-for-kids?” mindset. Those virtues come, he says, from the lessons he learned both in school and at camp.

“I’ve heard Charlie [Blair] ask ‘What’s best for kids?’ ever since I was a junior counselor when I was 16,” Dunnington said, “and so much of where Charlie comes from is from Buck Pitt (who led both Collegiate and Camp Virginia for years).

“Two institutions shaped me growing up: Collegiate No. 1 and Camp Virginia No. 2. 

Collegiate has its core values, which I so strongly believe in. Camp Virginia was so much about gratitude and overcoming obstacles, which are two unbelievably important attributes, especially for a Middle Schooler to grasp.”

The summer months have been relatively quiet around Flippen Hall. The planning phase has ended. The whirlwind has begun.

“I’m excited,” Dunnington said. “Ready to roll.”