John Patrick Kennedy will become Lakeview Academy’s sixth headmaster on July 1.

Kennedy, 47, joins Lakeview from St. Anthony Catholic School in San Antonio, where he currently serves as principal, according to an academy news release. The independent school serves students in kindergarten through eighth grades.

Lakeview Academy Board of Trustees Chairman Wade Beavers said about 20 people began a search in August to replace current academy headmaster Jim Robison.

"After conducting a national search, we are certain we have found the right person to become the next head of school," Beavers said. "John Kennedy will bring a wealth of talent, experience and energy that will allow Lakeview Academy not only to build on the successes achieved under the guidance of Dr. James Robison, but also create new opportunities for Lakeview and the surrounding communities."

The board did not renew Robison’s two-year contract this summer, Beavers said. He said Robison will finish out the year, his fifth year at the school, until Kennedy takes over in July.

Beavers said the transition in leadership comes as trustees aim to make Lakeview one of the Southeast’s premier college preparatory schools.

Robison has said he is pursuing leadership positions at other private schools, according to Lakeview communication director Sondra Berry.

Since 2000, Kennedy has been responsible for all aspects of the Texas Catholic school’s operations, including a capital campaign and a 2008 accreditation visit, the news release stated.

In 2008, Kennedy received the Outstanding Leader in Catholic Education Award. He has been a board member of the Texas Association of Non-Public Schools since 2004, and from 2004 to 2006 he served as the president of the San Antonio Independent Schools Association.

Kennedy, a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., attended the University of Dayton, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1984 and Master of Arts in English in 1987. He earned his doctorate in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota in 1999.

After spending eight years teaching in Ohio and Illinois, Kennedy accepted a position as an English instructor and Advanced Placement coordinator for the American School of El Salvador in 1992. Following three years in El Salvador, Kennedy further broadened his international teaching experience and became the English department head and AP curriculum director for the Schultz American School in Alexandria, Egypt.

In 1998, he returned to the states to become assistant principal for academics for Central Catholic High School in San Antonio.