BusinessReport.com

In just a few months on the job, Kathy Davison has made big changes at Trinity Episcopal Day School, upgrading the technology at the preschool/elementary school and implementing a new reading program.

Those are pretty big moves for someone who had been out of the classroom for two years and also who was replacing a popular principal.

Davison took time off from teaching after the birth of her second child. She was recruited as an interim replacement for Patricia Swenson, who had been head of school at Trinity Episcopal for 28 years.

“We have to begin to teach the way that children learn,” she says. “These children have never lived without the Internet or computers in the household. It’s imperative for us to keep up with a changing world.”

Because of her hard work and the changes at the school, Davison was recently named as the full-time head of Trinity Episcopal, on Morning Glory Avenue just west of Stanford Avenue.

Improving school technology has been a consistent theme in Davison’s educational career. She revamped the technology program when she was assistant to the head of school at St. James Episcopal Day School. And she served as technology department head with the Hillsborough (Fla.) County School System before moving to Louisiana.

Another of Davison’s issues is rewarding teachers financially based on student performance. “It’s all about treating teachers more like professionals and giving them higher pay,” she says.

Davison, who wrote her master’s thesis at the University of Southern Mississippi on merit pay, worked in the Teacher Advancement Program at the Louisiana Department of Education through the Milken Family Foundation. While she was working on the program, the number of participating schools increased from single figures to more than 30.

“Louisiana actually has one of the leading TAP programs in the country now,” she says. “They’ve done a wonderful job of advancing the program.”

Age: 37

What is Baton Rouge’s biggest strength in the quest to attract young professionals?

“The cost of living is fair here compared to other major cities. Having LSU, Southern and the other universities in the area are also strengths. Young professionals can work on continuing their education while getting experience in business.”

Click here for the complete list of 2008's Forty Under 40 winners.