Father Ryan High School announced that Stuart Magness and Joshua Lester are the school’s new Deans of Students and Jennifer Allen is the new Dean of Faculty.
The 2025-2026 school year will be Mr. Magness’s 19th year at Father Ryan after previously serving as Interim Dean of Students and Assistant Dean of Students. A native of Nashville and a 1995 Father Ryan graduate, Mr. Magness earned his Bachelor of Science in Sports Administration in 2000 from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Mr. Magness worked for Metro as a Gang Probation Officer for eight years before coming back to Father Ryan in 2007.
Mr. Lester brings extensive experience cultivated through leadership positions within independent schools in the greater Nashville area. He comes to Father Ryan from the Ensworth School, where he served as the Associate Director of Sports Leagues & Auxiliary Programs. Prior to the Ensworth School, Mr. Lester served as Assistant Director of Athletics and Assistant Director of Admissions at Franklin Road Academy and Brentwood Academy, respectively. Mr. Lester earned both his Master of Sports Administration and Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science with a Marketing minor from Belmont University.
Mrs. Allen joined the Father Ryan community in 2019 as an English teacher. She has co-led Father Ryan’s Instructional Leadership Team, served on the inaugural Hayes Scholars Programming Committee, redesigned and relaunched the Women’s Voices in Literature course, along with other initiatives. In this new position, Mrs. Allen will focus on faculty formation and instructional supervision by collaborating directly with teachers to strengthen teaching practices, foster professional growth, and support curriculum development.
Mrs. Allen earned both her Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Bachelor of Science in Middle Childhood Education from Trevecca Nazarene University.
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