Introducing Upper School’s Assistant Principal
Upper School’s new assistant principal sure did take a roundabout route to get to Principia . . . Flying to St. Louis from South Africa, where Peter Dry was born and grew up, would take close to a day normally. But his arrival on campus in August was via England, Japan, Norway, and Australia, among other places!
Fortunately for Principia, Mr. Dry’s nearly two-decade journey has encompassed a varied and effective career in education, equipping him with enriching experience, perspectives, and ideas as he takes on this newly created role.
According to Principal Travis Brantingham, Mr. Dry’s “experience as an educational leader will allow us to build strong interdisciplinary programs and further develop our experiential education curriculum.”
Since obtaining his bachelor’s degree and a diploma in education from the University of Natal, South Africa, Mr. Dry has forged an international career in middle and high school education spanning three continents. He has served as a teacher, coach, house parent, and administrator at schools in South Africa, as well as at the Claremont Fancourt School in Surrey, England, and Huntingtower School in Melbourne, Australia.
While earning his master’s in Educational Management from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, Mr. Dry helped establish and lead an international middle school in Sandefjord, Norway. Prior to that, he worked at an international school in Tokyo, Japan, and as a teacher and coach at two schools in South Africa.
Mr. Dry co-founded the Simunye Project, which empowers young people to make a positive difference in their world by embarking on community service projects in South Africa. Most recently, he served as the manager of professional and organizational learning for BMW Finance, Australia, implementing employee leadership, culture change, and professional development initiatives.
He is passionate about improving teaching and learning in schools, holding to a vision of “irresistible learning” that thoroughly engages both students and adults alike. “What excites me about education is unleashing the brilliance in each child,” he says, “seeing the perfect reflection of Mind, wisdom, curiosity. . . . ”
Mr. Dry and his wife, Samantha, have three children who have joined the Lower and Middle School.