Sheahen to Lead Lipscomb Academy Elementary School

Nationally recognized education veteran Jonathan Sheahen has been named Lipscomb Academy elementary school principal in a joint announcement from L. Randolph Lowry, Lipscomb university president, and Mike Hammond, university vice president and Lipscomb Academy headmaster.

Sheahen, mathematics faculty team leader at Nashville’s Harding Academy, brings a variety of teaching experience that has been recognized by his peers and by the White House to the Lipscomb Academy administrative team. He was selected as part of a rigorous national search and selection process and will assume the duties of principal on June 15.

“Jonathan Sheahen is an enthusiastic educator, committed Christian and brings tremendous credentials and experience with him. In our exhaustive search for a new principal, we looked for someone who would not only model Christ’s love of people and teaching them, but also model a hunger for developing each pupil to his or her potential as a student and as a future man or woman of God. We believe we have found that person,” said L. Randolph Lowry, Lipscomb University president.

In 2010, Sheahen was one of 85 mathematics and sciences teachers across the country honored by President Barack Obama with the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He was honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Sheahen has been a member of the faculty at Harding Academy since 2004. Last year he received Harding Academy’s Ed and Hattie Stuart Spirit Award as Teacher of the Year. For the past five years he has served as a teacher and advisory team member for the Vanderbilt Program for Talented Youth.

“Jonathan not only has rich professional experience but also the heart and mind to help our students grow academically and has a great passion to nurture the spiritual environment at Lipscomb,” said Mike Hammond, university vice president and headmaster for Lipscomb Academy.

His faculty experience includes teaching positions in Tampa, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; and Hillsboro School in Franklin, Tenn. In addition to classroom work, Jonathan has coached middle school volleyball, soccer, softball and tennis. He has participated in a variety of professional development programs such as the College of William and Mary’s Integrated Curriculum Model, the University of Connecticut’s Project M3, Harvard University’s Project Zero Classroom and WIDE World as well as participating in the Everyday Mathematics Leadership Institute. Sheahen is also a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops hosted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools.

Sheahen holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in elementary education from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Education degree in educational leadership from Trevecca. He and his wife, Shawna, have three sons, Eli, 8 and twins, Silas and Cooper, 6. They are members of Broadmoor Church of Christ, where Sheahen is a deacon.