Meet the Residential Team

Upper School Dorm Heads

Jennifer Dale

Dean of Girls Jennifer Dale (US’84, C’88), who also serves as head of the Upper School Girls’ Dorm, is well known in the Christian Science community for her many years of work with hundreds of teens as the Director of the National Leadership Council and Regional Manager of the DiscoveryBound program.

A boarder herself during her junior and senior years at the Upper School, what Jen values most from that experience are the inspiring discussions and deep friendships with other girls, and the opportunity to live in a community where good was celebrated. She and the team of housemoms in the Upper School Girls’ Dorm foster a sense of womanhood that is both confident and strong, caring and gracious. They love their girls by seeing their innate perfection and attraction to good and cultivating high expectations through trust and a call to self-government. Finding a sense of value within themselves gives girls a desire and confidence to give off themselves.

Jen and her husband, Bill, moved into the Girls’ Dorm in fall 2016. They have three children, the youngest of whom graduated from the Upper School in 2017.

Clark Shutt

Dean of Boys Clark Shutt has served as the Boys’ Dorm Residential Head since 2008. Before that, he directed Camp Leelanau, a camp for Christian Scientists in northern Michigan, for over 30 years. When asked to describe how he works with young men, his response is simple: “Well, it’s not rocket science. It’s love.”

“We use a lot of teamwork principles to help the boys learn to take initiative, especially when it comes to being a good brother to those on their hall and to their friends,” Clark explains. “We challenge them to be unselfish and to strengthen their talents and leadership skills. Our goal is for them to understand that to be truly successful, they’ve got to do more than what’s merely expected. Ultimately, though, we want to help them cultivate a spiritual depth of thought and realize their capacity to heal.”

Clark is joined in the dorm by his wife, Spring, a Journal-listed Christian Science nurse. Clark and Spring both have adult children.

Middle School Dorms

Karin Heath

In the Middle School Girls’ Dorm, Karin Heath (C’89) provides the perfect blend of playful and principled parenting, an art she developed during more than 20 years of co-directing Camp Bow-Isle, a camp for Christian Scientists in Canada. Karin enjoys working with the girls as “we learn how to trust one another and to be responsible for our actions,” she explains. And while she and the girls spend most of their time doing things together, she’s careful to maintain “a balance between [allowing] independence and being watchful.”

Karin and her husband, Jon (C’90), have three children—two of whom have graduated from the Upper School. Their youngest attends the Upper School.

Summer Wright

Summer Wright brings a variety of experiences to his role as houseparent in the Middle School Boys’ Dorm. He has worked with young people in Sunday School and camp and as an Asher House Manager and National Leadership Council class leader. Prior to taking coming to Principia in 2016, he served as a Journal-listed Christian Science practitioner.

Life in the dorm is full of joy, growth, spontaneity, structure, and brotherhood.” As for any challenges that arise, they “only help us grow in individual character and as a group.”

Summer is joined by his wife, Ashley (US’09, C’15) and their daughter, Makana.