Which popular former Beaufort High principal has a new job?

A popular former Beaufort High School principal has landed a new role.

Beaufort Academy hired Dan Durbin as its head of school, the school announced Thursday. Durbin will be introduced during a faculty meeting at the Lady’s Island private school at 7 a.m. Friday at and during a parents meeting at 8 a.m.

He will begin the job April 17.

“We started talking and found out there was a good possibility for partnership there, and it seemed to be the right time,” Durbin said Thursday.

Members of the search committee said Durbin’s name was suggested numerous times by teachers on staff and outside the school. Durbin was chosen from 70 applicants after what school officials said was an international search.

“He has an extremely dynamic and comprehensive knowledge of education, and is beloved by teachers and students alike,” Beaufort Academy board president Chilton Grace Simmons and search committee chairman R. Garrett Wreden wrote in a letter announcing the hire.

Durbin survived a heart attack in August, spending several days at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

He was principal at Beaufort High nine years before resigning in 2012 after admitting to changing students’ grades. He voluntarily surrendered his state principal and other administrative certificates the following year.

“That was something that has been cleared up, and it happened,” Durbin said. “It was learning experience, and I’m now looking toward the future.

“And I think this is a great time for me to be back involved in education.”

Since then, Durbin has worked as a consultant, taught classes at Lowcountry Montessori School and was the director of youth and family ministries for Sea Island Presbyterian Church. He has more than 30 years in education, including as a principal, English teacher and university adjunct, according to his resume.

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Which popular former Beaufort High principal has a new job?."