Dr. Elinor Scully

Dr. Elinor Scully is the 12th Head of National Cathedral School. She came to NCS in July 2021 after completing eight years of service as Head of The Langley School, a preschool-to-8th-grade school in McLean, Va.

With more than 20 years of both classroom and administrative experience, Dr. Scully is a nationally recognized thought leader on independent education and, in particular, on social and emotional learning. An expert in childhood and adolescent development, she has consulted with more than 40 independent schools and written for numerous publications on the topics of gender, sexuality education, and social and emotional learning.

Prior to assuming the headship of The Langley School, Dr. Scully served with distinction for eight years at NCS as head of the Upper School, assistant head of school, and associate head of school. She began her career in 1990 as a family life education teacher at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va., subsequently taking positions as chair of the family life education department and associate director of the Upper School before moving to NCS in 2005.

A Falls Church, Va., native, she holds a PhD and an MS in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in English from the University of Virginia. She currently serves on the Board of the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington.

NCS Heads of School

Lois A. Bangs and Mary Whiton
1900-1906
 
Mary A. Walker
1906-1913
 
Jessie C. McDonald
1913-1928
 
Mabel B. Turner
1929-1950
 
Katharine Lee
1950-1968
 
Edward A. Curran
1968-1980
 
J. Gregory Morgan
1980-1989
 
Agnes C. Underwood
1989-2003
 
Kathleen O'Neill Jamieson
2003-2019
 
Susan C. Bosland
2019-2021
 
Elinor Scully
2021-