Principal recieves national recognition

Theresa Ewell, principal at St. Catherine of Siena School in Albany, is an enabler.

But when she enables her students, their parents and the teaching staff at the school, it's in a positive way and for good reasons.

Mrs. Ewell, who has been a guiding force at St. Catherine's School since 1988, was recently recognized for her sense of vision: She received the 2003 Dr. Robert J. Kealey Distinguished Principal Award from the National Catholic Educational Association.

She told The Evangelist that her strength of leadership comes from her faith, which is "a big part of what I do every day."

Taking charge

Mrs. Ewell wanted to be a teacher ever since she can remember, but the job of principal fell into her lap. At the time the board asked her to take the position, "I was working as part-time librarian at the school," she said.

She and her family had just moved to Albany from Westchester County and joined St. Catherine's parish. She had taught in both public and private schools downstate. Both of her children were students at St. Catherine's.

Mrs. Ewell was asked to fill in as interim principal until the position could be permanently filled. She liked the job so much that at the end of the school year, when she was offered the position, she accepted.

Keys to success

The principal credits her success as an administrator to several factors:

* The first one is her faith and daily prayer. "I begin each day with quiet prayer," she explained. "For me, this is a wonderful way to begin your day. I find a great sense of serenity and peace through prayer, and can bring that with me to the office."

* Also, "there is a great network of support among the principals of Catholic schools here in Albany," she said. The principals of the eight Catholic grade schools in Albany meet once a month for support and camaraderie. "It has been wonderful. Everyone in that group has been a great source of inspiration and combined experience for me. There is always someone to call on whenever any of us needs encouragement or support," she said.

* In addition, Mrs. Ewell credits the teaching staff and administrative team at St. Catherine's with "tremendous support and the dedication necessary to get things done. All of my teachers have a very strong faith which they put into their jobs."

* Finally, she said that the willingness of parents to volunteer is an additional benefit. "Our parents really are wonderful. Everyone is busy, but they are always right there whenever they are asked to volunteer for an activity or help out in the classroom. Most of our parents are involved in ministries and parish activities as well as at the school."

On a mission

At St. Catherine's, Mrs. Ewell has implemented many programs, such as teacher in-service instruction, smaller class sizes and acceleration of the school's math program.

But, more than those, Mrs. Ewell said that "spirituality, community and scholarship are a vital part of our school's identity. We see ourselves as a strong service-oriented school.

"Teaching our students to live the message of the Gospel for the betterment of society is what we do here."

(Sister Mary Jane Herb, IHM, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Albany Diocese said that Theresa Ewell "is an exceptional leader in our Catholic schools. She is noted in particular for her forward thinking when it comes to the future of the school and improvement there. She is always searching for ways to improve the professional development of her faculty and staff.")

(6/12/03) [[In-content Ad]]