by Emily Yachter
After 14 years of serving Laurence Manning Academy (LMA) and the Manning community as a teacher and administrator, Tripp Boykin plans to assume the role as the new headmaster of LMA, beginning in June 2018.
According to Boykin, he has spent over one-half of his life at LMA as both a student and a faculty member, yet his excitement and love for the school continues to grow.
“We have something really special here at LMA,” Boykin said. “The genuine family atmosphere and personal investment of our school’s faculty, students and families is a big reason why I love coming to LMA every day.”
This love for the school is what led him to apply for the position late last year, Boykin said. When Dr. Spencer Jordan, who has acted as LMA’s headmaster for the past ten years, announced his resignation to accept the position of Executive Director of the South Carolina Schools Association, Boykin approached the school board members and asked to be considered for the position. While he is saddened by Jordan’s departure, Boykin said that this career change feels like the natural step forward in his professional career and is honored to take on the new responsibilities.
“Dr. Jordan and I are like brothers,” Boykin said. “He’s done some really amazing things here, as have all of our previous headmasters. I am honored to pick up the LMA flag and continue to lead our school forward, building on the success of LMA under Dr. Jordan.”
Aside from his responsibilities inside the classroom, Boykin will embrace several new duties with his role as headmaster. However, he said he is ready to take on those new responsibilities, especially since he felt he has been unofficially training for this position for years as a faculty member and principal. Jordan has allowed him to be involved in several activities and opportunities that will help him succeed in this new role, according to Boykin.
“I was unwittingly preparing for a job like this for years,” Boykin said. “Dr. Jordan has always been extremely selfless in mentoring me to be a part of a lot of different administrative areas for a long time.”
Boykin said he is humbled and immeasurably grateful for the school and community support and congratulations, but the most important thing to him is focusing on the students and faculty and maintaining the current integrity and environment of the school.
“I most want this to be a time for the community and we, as a family, to focus on this school,” Boykin said. “I love the kids here. The students and the faculty and staff are what make us a family, and giving them the best environment possible is what’s most important to me.”
Although he does not currently expect to implement major policy or curriculum changes at LMA, Boykin said he is always looking for new educational and extracurricular activities for students of all ages. He said he hopes to keep many of the standing, traditional values of the school and couple them with innovative, unique additions to encourage students to find their full potential in different areas of interest, both in and out of the classroom.
“I’ve always been taught that, when someone lends you something, you give it back in better condition than it was in before,” Boykin said. “I like to think that this applies to the parents and families at LMA, too. They allow us to take care of their children, so I want this school to be the place where we educate the whole person and encourage students to have experiences and grow, whether it be intellectually, spiritually or emotionally.”
Boykin said that he is both enthusiastic and anxious to see what the future of LMA will look like and is extremely grateful for this new professional opportunity.
“With any change in administration, you see a slight personality shift within the school and of the school overall,” Boykin said. “I have been blessed by the grace of God to get this chance to lead this school and to have learned and grown so much under the leadership of Dr. Jordan and my fellow faculty and administrators. I can’t wait to see where LMA will go.”
