Dana James
University of Georgia
BSEd Mathematics Education
MEd Mathematics Education
Graduate Work in Educational Leadership
Tell us about your family.
I have been married to my wife, Sheila, since 1981. Together we have three sons -- Daniel, Andrew, and Timothy. All five of us graduated from the University of Georgia. Sheila and I have lived a blessed life together. We have shared our love for education by working together for over 25 years. Sheila is the most knowledgeable person I know on the topic of curriculum, and she has helped me grow as an educator in countless ways. We are honored to be at Seven Rivers and are grateful to God for bringing us to this unknown part of Florida.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
After teaching, coaching, and leading a school in Athens, Georgia, for 29 years, I arrived at Seven Rivers in 2010. I never dreamed my life would be impacted and changed in so many ways. I have been blessed to work with the most committed and passionate group of people imaginable. Our teachers and staff are deeply in love with our school and your children. Their educational worldview has transformed my vision of the possibilities for a school. Many amazing things have happened over these years, but the most amazing to me has been the development and adoption of the Core Values for the SRCS Student. Almost instantly, the core values became part of our DNA. I hear teachers and students quote them almost every day. Our core values offer a practical way to flesh out the Gospel, and I love seeing lives changed by the message of God's grace and amazing love.
What is a favorite quote?
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -Teddy Roosevelt
