As Cary Academy enters its 30th year, Head of School Dr. Mike Ehrhardt reflects on the unexpected paths, individual transformations, and willingness to keep evolving that have shaped both his life and the school he has led.  Mike Ehrhardt remembers the moment clearly.  It was early in his tenure at Cary Academy, and he had […]

When Trey Murphy III, ’18, returns to Cary Academy as this year’s Commencement speaker, he comes not just as an NBA standout but as someone profoundly shaped by a community that nurtured his drive, steadiness, and sense of purpose long before he took the national stage.  Ask him what he remembers most from his time […]

How one seventh-grade awakening became the foundation for a career spent helping students discover their own.  You might call it a full-circle moment.  Long before Lucy Dawson became Cary Academy’s Middle School Dean of Students—and long before she helped shape a seventh-grade humanities experience known for its intellectual depth, interdisciplinary connections, and student-centered care—she was […]

A pilot inter-disciplinary program weaves together content, context, and connection.  Last fall, 16 Upper School students stepped into a new kind of classroom. While Cary Academy has long championed experiential learning and flexible environments, this was something more—an ambitious, co-developed and co-taught interdisciplinary pilot rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and connection. There were no bells dictating subject shifts, […]

Change at Cary Academy doesn’t always arrive with fanfare. At a school where innovation is a core value, change is expected. It often begins quietly: with a good question, a thoughtful conversation, and an open mind. And that’s just how Dr. Donna Eason is approaching her new role as Head of Upper School—with curiosity, creativity, […]

A year-long strategic planning journey, shaped by voices across the Cary Academy community, lays the groundwork for a bold new chapter. Last fall, Cary Academy launched an ambitious, community-wide initiative to chart a bold strategic course for the next five years. The goal? To develop a plan rooted in our mission—discovery, innovation, collaboration, and excellence—while […]

When Mark Hallen, ’06, arrived at Cary Academy as a self-described “bookish” student with a budding interest in math and science, he could never have imagined that one day he’d help turn what once felt like science fiction into reality. Today, he is doing just that, leading a team of scientists in designing cancer drugs […]