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LEADERSHIP MODEL

Maginn gets new head of school 

Bishop Maginn High School in Albany will begin the school year with a new leadership model.

Annemarie Barkman has been appointed the new Head of School. In this position, she will oversee the school's institutional advancement efforts and recruitment. Joseph Grasso remains principal of the school.

This new model is similar to the "president/principal" model often used at private Catholic schools. According to the National Catholic Education Association, the president/principal model is a management strategy that responds to the need for additional management at Catholic schools as the demands on principals increase. 

The model assigns to the president responsibility for long-term planning, fiscal management, alumni affairs, board leadership, recruitment, institutional advancement, Catholic identity, public representation and fundraising and development efforts.

The principal is chiefly responsible for academic and student affairs, student services, admissions, school ministry and the hiring and supervision of teaching faculty and support staff.

Super's take
Sister Mary Jane Herb, IHM, diocesan superintendent of schools, said that the new leadership model will allow Bishop Maginn to better negotiate the challenges facing urban Catholic high schools.

One of those challenges is location, she said: With many Catholics living in the suburbs, fewer make the choice to send their child to a high school located in a city. However, there are people who live in the city who choose a school like Bishop Maginn for reasons other than the faith component.

Another challenge facing urban Catholic schools is financing, said Sister Jane. 

Ms. Barkman will be both an internal and external presence at Bishop Maginn, Sister Jane said. She will reach out to graduates of the "heritage schools" that have comprised Bishop Maginn's student population, as well as to the larger community.

Ms. Barkman was hired after a national search. Her experience includes having served as a teacher and principal in public middle and high schools across upstate New York, including eight years in inner-city Syracuse. 

Most recently, she was superintendent of schools for the Gilboa-Conesville School District in Schoharie.

Cheerleader
Ms. Barkman said she is looking forward to leading a Catholic school, as it gives her the opportunity to combine her faith with her passion for education.

"At Catholic schools you can do what so many parents desire," she said; "and that's instilling character and leadership."

While spending time at the school in June, Ms. Barkman was impressed by the students. 

"There is a wonderful diversity," she noted. "I was also struck by how polite and respectful the students are. Joe [Grasso] has done a wonderful job instilling behaviors that will get the students far in life."

Ms. Barkman was also impressed by the school's campus. "It's such a spacious and beautiful building," she said. "The building is an asset in that there is space to be creative."

The location of the school is another highlight for the new head of school. 

"Because of its location, the students have access to services and culture," she said. "Bishop Maginn is in the center of it all."

Leaping into her work by advocating for her new school, she added: "I think Bishop Maginn is the urban centerpiece of the Catholic Diocese and of all of the high schools in the Albany area."

(For more information on Bishop Maginn High School, visit www.bishopmaginn.org.)

(08/20/09) [[In-content Ad]]

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