As most of our parents, parishioners and staff know, we have been managing a great deal of change at our school and parish over the past year. A few weeks ago, I gave an update on our parish operations and finances. This posting serves to update you on our progress of finding the right principal for our school.
Last June, Jan Altevogt our school principal of 5 years, resigned unexpectedly for medical reasons. Due to the timing of her departure, we were not able to conduct a thorough search to find a new principal. We were blessed to have our school’s religious director of 13 years, Pam Jackimiec, step into the principal’s role for the 2008/2009 school year on short notice. She is executing her role very well and has offered a calming and steadfast hand of support during a time of uncertainty. For this I want to thank Pam for her many loyal years of service.
As we enter the New Year, we begin the formal process of searching for our new principal. I use the word “formal” because the Archdiocese of Denver directs and oversees the process. They set the method of selection, train individuals involved in the selection process, validate prospective candidates and ultimately certify that the individual selected by the committee is appropriate for the role. While this process takes months to execute, it ensures that we end up with the best possible candidate.
I have also assembled a Principal Search Committee in accordance with Archdiocese guidelines. The members of the Search Committee consist of school parents, parish and school board members. Their names are listed at the end of this letter. Please feel free to contact them directly with questions or thoughts.
Below is the sequence of events that will happen over the next few months:
· By December 31, 2008, existing school principals within the Archdiocese of Denver may request to be placed on the list of potential candidates for other parochial schools that need a principal. Candidates from outside the Archdiocese must submit their application to the Office of Catholic Schools (OCS) for consideration.
· In January 2009, the OCS will evaluate the candidates. The SHJ Search Committee will be trained by the OCS on the selection process.
· In late January or early February the Search Committee will solicit feedback from the school community so they can build a profile of the ideal principal candidate and outline realistic goals for the coming years.
· The OCS will match candidates using the profile and goals outlined by the Search Committee. At this point, the top candidates will meet and interview with the Search Committee.
· The Search Committee will evaluate the candidates and make their final recommendation. We hope to identify a new principal before the Easter break.
I know there is much concern over the selection of our new principal as this person plays a vital role in the faith formation and education of our children. This is a very important and serious process and we want to conduct it with as much openness and insight as possible to understand the needs and desires of our school.
I will be sending periodical updates throughout our process. In the meantime you can help in two distinct ways. First, write your thoughts down on what you think are the top attributes of a school principal and what goals you think we should pursue for our school (we or the School Advisory Council will be asking for them in the coming months). Second, if you know any Catholic principal that may have an interest in serving us, please encourage them to submit their resume to the Archdiocese of Denver, Office of Catholic Schools.
Thank you for you understanding and patience.
God bless you all,
Father Bill Breslin
Search Committee members
· Tommy Lorden, a school dad, heads us our Social Justice Committee and serves on Pastoral Council (tlorden@gmail.com)
· Brenda Pearson, a school mom, serves on School Advisory Council (BM_Pearson@yahoo.com)
· Paul Berberian, a non-school dad, served on TAG and now heads the Communications Committee (paul@berberian.com)
· Andy Bush, a non-parishioner school dad, serves on School Advisory Council (Andy@morgancreekventures.com)
· Scott Whitehill, a school dad, serves on Finance Council and is council’s liaison to the school (swhitehi@ball.com)
· Colette Cribari, a school mom, served on the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (ccribari@bouldercounty.org)
Please feel free to contact anyone on the search committee – your comments will be shared with the rest of the committee but will be kept confidential amongst the committee members.
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