Former Chattanoogans Michael McBrien, Angie Crabtree Now Administrators At Knoxville Webb

Former Baylor School administrator Michael McBrien has literally traveled to different parts of the world since leaving Chattanooga in 2010.           
 
He was the headmaster of The American School in England just outside London for five years, but is now back in East Tennessee serving in his first year as president of Webb School in Knoxville.
 
But his mind has continued to explore, and he is busily trying to institute new programs at the independent day school. He recently helped Webb put together plans for the Knoxville area’s first fifth grade academy that will open this fall, and he also helped the school develop its first pre-K program, also to be unveiled this year.
 
During a recent interview in Knoxville, he said the idea for the academy came simply from looking at the established and respected school with a set of fresh eyes as its new administrator and asking “what if” questions.
 
“If you’re in the fifth grade and in the lower school (Webb’s name for its elementary school) for six years, what can we do to make the school more unique?” McBrien said. “What is the right environment and what motivates the students?”
 
He said the program will include adding a third fifth-grade section of students, putting the students in their own space, letting them travel to different classrooms for core subjects, and using collaboration and integration. Mentoring, service and leadership activities will also be part of the program, he said.
 
Helping him and the school institute the program is another former Chattanoogan, Angie Crabtree, who is currently the head of Webb’s lower school but worked and taught at St. Nicholas School from 1989-93.
 
During the same interview, she said the faculty at Webb is quite excited. “They are already trying to see how they are going to integrate it into their teaching,” said Ms. Crabtree, who worked with St. Nicholas’ after care program for two years and then its Early Learning Center for 4- and 5-year-olds.
 
For Mr. McBrien, being at Webb since last July has been another rewarding stop in a career that also included working at Babson College in Massachusetts and the University of California Berkeley, and starting a charter school in Colorado.
 
“You walk around and know this place has a heart,” he said of Webb, pointing out that it has a great sense of community.
 
He said he also has rich memories of being at Baylor and living in the housing village of campus off Old Baylor School Road with his wife, Betsy, and their four children.
 
“I thoroughly loved working at Baylor,” he said. “The faculty was stellar and the students were fantastic.”
 
Mr. McBrien, who found out about an opening at Baylor through an educational consultant, first served as head of student affairs after arriving in 2004 and later was named head of school.
 
He said one aspect about his time at Baylor that helped him become part of the community even more was that his four children attended there at the time. Beau McBrien graduated in 2005, Anne McBrien Head in 2007 and Kate McBrien in 2010. Another son, Zach, also attended there until the McBriens moved to England.
 
“We were really connected with the students,” Mr. McBrien said. “It was wonderful living on campus, as we were able to fully participate in the life of the school.”
 
Wife Betsy also used her training and skills to help with the design of the Baylor student center renovation and other campus improvements while they were there.
 
In comparing Baylor and Webb, Mr. McBrien diplomatically calls them both great schools.
 
“Baylor and Webb are both top-tier independent schools, which truly do prepare students for college and life,” he said.
 
He also enjoyed his time in the county of Surrey in England serving as headmaster of The American School in England, which is affiliated with The American School in Switzerland (TASIS).
 
“Working internationally was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “Working at a school that had students from over 49 countries was fascinating. The school was located in a small village and our campus was composed of historical buildings with the English charm.”
 
While it did offer similarities to Baylor in that the traditional American college preparatory curriculum was offered and it was also a day/boarding school, a big difference was that it had students as young as age 3.
 
It also had one small advantage over Baylor, he admitted, but it was due simply to geography.
 
“One of the greatest advantages of living in the UK (United Kingdom) was that you could travel with students to the historical sites that they had been studying, such as Athens, Egypt, Pisa, Florence, and Paris,” he said.
 
Mr. McBrien has enjoyed continuing to study ways to help students in a positive way as well. And he feels he has found that ideal opportunity at Webb.
 
“What sold me on this place was the students,” he said. “They are an amazing group of kids.”
 
Jcshearer2@comcast.net