Principal Search Committee Update

A big thank you to more than 165 parents and 38 faculty who completed the Principal Search survey. Here are a few key insights the school heard from you:

  • Bernadette O’Leary has exhibited strong leadership and has added great value to the community during her 13-year tenure. She is communicative, charismatic and brings an energetic presence to all community events.
  • Parents, in the survey, expressed strong value for Catholic education and desired our next Principal to model and be faithful to the Catholic teachings. Staff survey acknowledged the need for a leader who is pastoral and collaborates well with the Parish.
  • The survey also indicated a need for a leader who supports the mission of the school, with particular attention to promoting Fair Share and fostering the diversity and inclusivity of the community.
  • The survey showed a new principal, like Ms. O’Leary, should be approachable, transparent and nurturing in their interactions with students, parents and faculty/staff.
  • It is important the new leader advocates and coaches teachers toward continuing to raise the standard for academic excellence in the school.
  • The faculty and staff ask for a leader who listens and values input from the team.


Top Q&As

  • Why not Paul “Pablo” Kelley for Principal?
    It is clear our Assistant Principal is well-loved by the community. However, Mr. Kelley is happy in his current administrative role on the school leadership team and wants to continue serving our Parish School community in this way.
  • What is the role of the Principal at St. John School?
    While there are many commonalities across all Principals, each school divides leadership responsibilities in different ways. Here at St. John School, the Principal serves as the Pastoral leader of the school. In addition to ensuring the school’s Catholicity, the Principal’s other primary tasks are directed at running the “business side” of the school. The Principal manages budgeting, salary allocations and tuition forecasting. Furthermore, strategic planning and interaction with the Office for Catholic Schools, licensing agencies, the Parent Association, the Fundraising Administrator, the Director for Admissions/Advancement, and Administrative staff are fundamental to the role. Finally, the Principal manages all hiring along with facilitating annual teacher/staff evaluations. 
  • Who is on our school administrative team?
    • Based on Canon Law, the Pastor is the primary leader of St. John Parish and School. The school is the largest ministry of the Parish. Fr. Crispin will make the final decision on who will be the new Principal. The role of the Principal Search Committee is to make final recommendations to Fr. Crispin. Our Assistant Principal, Paul Kelley, is responsible for student life, safety, technology, events, fundraising, facilities, strategic planning, and support of all faculty and staff. Our Director of Development, Jonna Skokan, is responsible for admissions, fundraising, alumni, and marketing and also serves in a school administrator capacity. Additional members of the Administrative Team include Finance Manager, Andrea Marquez, Administrative Assistant and Communications, Di Tran, Fundraising Administrator, Chris Sourov, and Frances Quevedo, “Mrs. Q.” our lead Front Desk Administrator. The Parish Administrator, Dani D’Amelio, and her team support all Human Resources.  
    • The School Commission is comprised of 10 community members who act as the consultative body for the leadership team and provide guidance on strategic planning, school priorities, issues and much more.
  • What’s next?
    The Principal Search Committee partners with the Office for Catholic Schools on the hiring process, which typically takes several months. This group has met frequently throughout the fall and feels very organized as we enter the new year. Your survey input helped the team craft the official job description for our new principal, and the job was posted on both local and national platforms on Monday, December 4. We hope to attract candidates over the holiday and may begin interviewing in late January/early February 2024. The Search Committee will provide its next update at the State of the School presentations in late January 2024.