Royall Announces Retirement, Mayo to Assume Duties

Father Stephen Swann, who announced his own retirement on Dec. 20, sent an email to ESD parents late Tuesday stating that chief academic officer Rebecca Royall was retiring for health reasons. Royall has worked at ESD since 1977. Her duties will be absorbed by upper school head Erin Mayo, who has been at ESD for five years.

Royall, Mayo, and Swann were the three administrators who claimed responsibility for forcing Jane Doe II to withdraw from the school two months after it was discovered she was in a sexual relationship with teacher J. Nathan Campbell. In September, a jury found the school liable for gross negligence and fraud for how it handled the student’s exit and awarded the family $9.2 million.

For more on this development, pick up the Jan. 6 edition of Preston Hollow People or subscribe today.

January 3 ESD Parent Letter

By Claire St. Amant Jan. 3, 2012 | 5:14 pm | 10 Comments | Comments RSS
10 comments to "Royall Announces Retirement, Mayo to Assume Duties"
  1. Disgusted @ January 3, 2012 at 7:50 pm
    Erin Mayo remains completely unqualified for her current role, as the head of the Upper School at Episcopal School of Dallas. Her promotion is a “sham promotion” from within, no right-minded educational administrator would take any ESD position without cleaning house and auditing the financials. Her retention is more of the same incestuous conduct that got us here in the first place.

    Before coming to our campus, Mayo was the assistant headmaster at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont. She secured the position because her father was the former headmaster. During her tenure, St. Johnsbury was nothing but a middle of the road boarding school — median SAT score is 1540 out of 2400. I believe that Mayo spent her entire pre-ESD career at this one school. So we have someone in charge of our post-founding era who was handed her first out of college job and then came down here at age 37.

    How is she supposed to lead our school out of the mess of this administration (this is of course putting aside her contributions to the mess)?

  2. WOW @ January 3, 2012 at 7:58 pm
    So, she won’t be haunting the halls with her sad little story?

  3. Rolling @ January 3, 2012 at 10:34 pm
    @WOW – thanks for the laugh! Too funny

  4. Scott Mathis @ January 3, 2012 at 11:17 pm
    @WOW LOL maybe t-shirts are in order so Ms. Mayo will “be haunting the halls with her sad little story”. She needs to go as does John Eagle.

  5. GMOM @ January 4, 2012 at 11:44 am
    OK, so let me see if I have got this right – Campbell, the pediphile/preditor gets 10 years adjudicated sentence, so no jail time and community service. This is a felony! Sign him up for maybe the Soup Kitchen with poor families and their teen age children!! Sure, he got a clean report from the other schools where he had been employed. You don’t think for one minute the other schools would put it out there that they had a preditor/sex offender in the midst of their children. Kind of sounds Priest-ish? Chris Burrow committed witness tampering and lieing in Court, that’s a felony.
    Swann is not going anywhere, at least he should have retired, gone dark for a couple of years, let it all blow away, then come back as blah, blah, blah emeritus. It is sad that the good names and good intensions of several board members are soiled because of this and they will be responsible financially for some of this “comedy of errors”.
    The last bit of drama is allowing Mayo to remain at the school.The email she wrote should have never entered her mind, was that thinking of the child? That’s just plain mean!! Bottom line, Jane Doe could have been walking around campus naked and what Campbell did to her is a felony, period!! Where’s the justice? Not at ESD, you can have your HOUSE.

  6. Avid Reader @ January 4, 2012 at 12:54 pm
    As funny as the shirts bearing IDWHHTHWHSLS might be; this isn’t funny. Mayo is the choice ESD makes? Did Swann, Royall and Eagle throw this decision down as a parting *&$% you? Did they have a search? Did they even interview anyone? Swann, Royall, and Eagle leaving is three steps forward with Mayo taking charge we just jumped 5 steps backwards.

  7. WOW @ January 4, 2012 at 3:28 pm
    I just think it’s ironic that the person who said the “haunting” quote ends up with the big prize- some might say a “boobie” prize. Very sad.

    One family said that ESD was a school full of mean, competetive people. I think this appointment bears that out.

  8. auntiecairo @ January 5, 2012 at 11:12 am
    GMOM – ESD had no control over Campbell’s sentencing. (is a “pediphile” someone with a foot fetish?) Jane Doe and her family chose not to participate in Campbell’s sentencing so you could say they might be partially to blame. The verdict against ESD was for actions after the fact — Campbell’s lighter sentence points to the belief by many that the length of the relationship, Jane Doe’s age and other factors not allowed into testimony contributed to the outcome. I find it fascinating people continue to be so outraged yet apparently keep their children at ESD or still refer to it as “our school.” Leads me to believe these letters are plants or friends of the Does — Mayo having gotten a job from a friend hardly disqualifies her from the job. In the world of the 1% “knowing people” and nepotism are how many get their jobs — just look at some of our Presidents!

  9. Mothe of Alum @ January 6, 2012 at 12:06 am
    What exactly is the intent and meaning of the “This Is Our House” yard signs ?? “This Is Our House” and we’ll behave however the ##!! we want?? There’s an underlying hostility in this slogan and I find this very, very offensive. To display that sign in ones yard is simply an admission of narrow mindedness and lemming-like behavior.

    This latest news of Erin Mayo’s promotion is shocking. Sadly, I suspect that the majority of the fine Christian families of ESD support the Mayo decision and will continue vilifying Jane “Ho”…..as the young victim is commonly referred to within the ESD community.

  10. another perspective @ January 27, 2012 at 11:27 am
    This might just be an attempt to allow Mayo to get another job. This shows the school does not blame her. I bet her resume is out as I type.

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