Dan Frank was appointed The Steward School’s sixth head of school on November 20, 2014, after serving as interim head of school for a year.
He has been part of the Steward community since 2007, when he became the director of the Upper School. Prior to his time in Virginia, Mr. Frank worked at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts for eight years, where he served as director of Summer Session. He was responsible for the worldwide recruitment of 365 students, hiring a faculty of more than 70, overseeing the curriculum, and managing financial aid, scholarships, and marketing, in addition to winning a Ford Fellowship in 2005.
Mr. Frank's career in education began with several international ventures. He studied abroad in Sri Lanka during his college years at the University of Vermont. Following graduation, he joined the Peace Corps and lived on the island of Tarawa for two years. In subsequent years, he was part of the prestigious Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program in Latvia and a teacher trainer for the Peace Corps in Estonia. He ultimately earned his master’s degree from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Bobby Pollicino earned a B.S. in biology from Washington College and a M.A. in secondary science from The College of William and Mary. In addition, he earned an Executive Certificate in Leadership from Cornell University. Before leading Steward’s Upper School, he served as Head of Upper School at Bullis School, an independent, co-educational college preparatory school for grades K-12 in Potomac, MD. Mr. Pollicino has taught public speaking, leadership, environmental science, and biology courses and has coached girls and boys lacrosse since 2003. Mr. Pollicino believes in fostering students’ growth and development through well-rounded educational experiences and strong community relationships.
Susan Atkinson, who has served as director of Middle School since 2013, earned her
B.A. in biology from Duke University and her M.Ed. in science education from The University of Virginia. Before joining the Steward community, Mrs. Atkinson served as Director of Studies and Director of Middle School at The Langley School (McLean, Va.) as well as a science and math teacher at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School (Alexandria, Va.), Ursuline Academy (Wilmington, Del.), and Harpeth Hall School (Nashville, Tenn.). She is passionate about helping students successfully navigate the transformative Middle School years by learning to be self-advocates, building resilience, and honing collaborative skills.
Becky Groves, who joined the Steward faculty in 2011, earned her B.A. in English education from The College of William & Mary and her M.Ed. from The University of Virginia. In addition, she earned a certification as a Structured Literacy Interventionist from the Center for Effective Reading Instruction and is a certified reading specialist. From 2015-2023, Mrs. Groves served as Lower School Academic Dean at Steward; she has served as Lower School Director since 2023. Mrs. Groves is passionate about the power of play as a guidepost for early childhood education as well as the need for joyful learning experiences for all students.