Dear MICDS Community,
I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Mr. Stewart Crais as the first Chief Information Officer at MICDS, effective July 1, 2021.
Stewart brings a wealth of independent school experience to his new position, having served as both Director of Technology and Director of Operations at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee. Stewart is perhaps best known among school IT professionals for creating and directing for many years the Laptop Institute at Lausanne, through which many members of our own faculty and staff are well acquainted. Stewart currently oversees all aspects of Lausanne’s campus operations, including, technology, construction, buildings and grounds, master planning, security, and dining services, but he also has extensive experience integrating and maintaining a mixed-platform workstation environment and leading network administration, database management, and long-range technology planning efforts.
Our new CIO position at MICDS builds on our proud tradition of adopting and implementing digital technologies and infrastructure in the service of learning. We are excited to strengthen this legacy with the establishment of a key senior leadership role. Information access and management have become inextricable to the work of teaching and learning, just as they have become inextricable to the work of supporting these essential endeavors of our institution. At the same time that Stewart joins our staff at MICDS, we bid farewell to Tom Wyman, our Director of Technology since 2011, who will retire in June. We are grateful for Tom’s leadership of the School’s technology systems and services and wish him well in his next chapter.
MICDS utilized the services of Ed Tech Recruiting to identify highly qualified candidates for the CIO role. In advance of the search itself, they conducted a broad institutional technology assessment, working extensively with many of our teachers and staff to understand our technology needs. Under the leadership of Beth Miller, our CFO, a search advisory committee reviewed numerous applicants for the CIO position, among whom Stewart enjoyed the strongest endorsement for advancement by a considerable margin. Stewart interviewed first as a semifinalist with several senior administrators and a Technology Department representative, after which he interviewed as a finalist with a broader group of faculty and staff. He was complimented afterward by those who met him for his ability to connect with people, his sense of humor, his eagerness to learn, his openness to new ideas, and the sense that he would fit well in our MICDS community.
Stewart has worked in education for over 25 years after earning a B.A. in psychology and sociology from Rhodes College. He began his career as a middle school English and literature teacher before finding his way to technology. Stewart’s familiarity with teaching and learning in an independent school setting makes him keenly aware of the role of technology in supporting the mission, strategic plan, and academic experience at MICDS. He firmly believes that “technology should complement and support good teaching and learning, not get in its way.”
Stuart McCathie, Head of School at Lausanne, describes Stewart as focused, detailed, and meticulous, but also creative and collaborative. “Stewart values efficiency and productivity,” he noted, “but he values connections and relationships with his team, his colleagues, and students even more.”
“I am ecstatic about joining the MICDS family, and I look forward to the opportunity to be part of such a vibrant community,” says Stewart. He and his wife, Leslie, have five children between them, including two in college, two high school seniors, and another one—along with their first grandchild—in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They will be moving to St. Louis with their two Great Danes, Daisy and Rosie. Stewart and Leslie both enjoy being outdoors, traveling, and discovering new areas. He is a two-time Ironman triathlete and has competed in multiple other triathlons over the years, but he says he is currently enjoying retirement from competition. He also enjoys running, mountain biking, and hiking. Stewart is excited to reconnect with those members of the MICDS community whom he already knows and to meet the rest of his new School family as well.
Please join me in welcoming Mr. Stewart Crais and his family to St. Louis and to MICDS.
Jay Rainey
Head of School