Gordon Hight announced to faculty and students Wednesday his plans to step down as director of Darlington’s upper school division at the end of the current school year.

“Ever since I graduated from business school, I have been very career driven,” Hight told faculty. “Everything I’ve done in my life has been strategic and intentional to prepare me for my next step professionally. But I’ve realized in the past couple of years that something is missing — it’s time for me to start focusing more on my personal and family life.”

Hight, a 1994 graduate of Darlington, is the great-grandson of the school’s first graduate, Gordon Lee Hight Sr. (1908).

“Darlington has taught me a great deal,” he said. “It was here that I learned how to learn, how to teach and how to lead. Every experience I’ve had here has been enriching and fulfilling, and Darlington will always be near and dear to my heart.”

Hight previously taught history, government and economics at Darlington, and was also dean of students. In 2008, he was promoted to acting director of the upper school.

Headmaster Tom Whitworth said Hight has proven his ability to lead.

“I have always said that Gordon is a tremendous role model for young men and women,” Whitworth said. “He is a scholar and a gentleman; he is kind and generous; and he looks for the best in people. Gordon embodies the aspect of our mission that calls for acting with courage and conviction, practicing ethical leadership and exhibiting honorable character, and I know he will continue to do so in his life. We wish him all the best.”

A search is already under way for Hight’s replacement.