A LOVED COMMUNITY

BACK TO SCHOOL: Ashley Romand set to lead at Mater Christi School in Albany in ‘transition year’

Ashley Romand, principal and fourth-grader Abby Schillinger are seen at Mater Christi’s Chalk the Walk night on Sept. 3. Romand, who took over as principal in July, taught kindergarten and preK at the school before taking on her new role. (Photo provided)

They say when you find something that feels good, that you should cherish it. That’s how Ashley Romand feels about Mater Christi School in Albany.

Romand, 28, first came to Mater Christi in 2021 as a kindergarten teacher, leading her classroom for three years before switching last year to pre-K.

This year she’s switching classrooms again, but this time to take over as principal.

“I’m excited,” she said in an interview with The Evangelist. “I’m very excited to welcome the students back.”

Her first year behind the principal’s desk is also an emotional one for the school: The Diocesan Catholic School Office announced the restructuring of the three Albany Catholic schools in early February — Mater Christi School, Blessed Sacrament School and All Saints Catholic Academy — in order to find a more sustainable Catholic education option, as all three schools faced financial debt.

The results allowed Mater Christi School to remain open as a pre-K through Grade 8 school, but restructured Blessed Sacrament School as a pre-K through Grade 6 school, and closed All Saints Catholic Academy.

Romand has been calling this “a transition year” as new staff and new students — some coming from Blessed Sacrament or from the closed All Saints Catholic Academy — are welcomed to Mater Christi after a turbulent end of the school year. 

“Everybody is ready to embrace that,” Romand said. Mater Christi was able to obtain busing to shuttle students coming from Albany neighborhoods to Mater Christi “to help families struggling with the transportation aspect,” Romand added. “I think that’s one more step that we can help with.”

A primary goal Romand has this year is to focus on the students, especially as each classroom navigates the changes from last year. The school’s enrollment is up (something Romand called “a good challenge to have”) and will result in slightly larger class sizes.

But a change in quantity won’t affect a change in quality: “I want when (students) come in the door, I want them to be happy and I want them to go home saying, ‘I want to come back,’ ” she said. “That would be the primary goal.”

A native of Colonie, Romand knew from a young age what she wanted to be: “I was three years old at a daycare and said when I grow up I want to be a teacher,” she laughed.

It was something she never strayed from, embodying the teaching lifestyle throughout high school and college. While a student at Colonie Central High School, she taught Spanish to elementary school students through a program at her school. She also maintains close ties with the Albany Police Athletic League and was the previous president of their youth leadership council. 

“My roots are deeply tied to service and learning and building community,” she said.  

She obtained her bachelor’s in early childhood and special education and master’s in literacy (birth through 12th Grade) from The College of Saint Rose, and a Building Leader, District Leader certificate from SUNY New Paltz.

Her latter certificate in administration was an encouragement from the previous principals of Mater Christi who motivated her to have it in her back pocket. Then, the opportunity came for her to take over Mater Christi — maybe sooner than she expected, but with excitement all the same.

“This is something I’ve been working for pretty much my whole life,” she said.

Now, she’s working hard to build up her school and the community around it. Having grown up in the public school system it wasn’t until she started working at Mater Christi that Romand saw the benefits a Catholic education gave staff and families.

“What’s holding (people) here is that family feel,” she said. “That families can come help us when we want help, or when we have a big fall festival and their family is running the bounce house. It’s the community part that keeps people here and it brings them back.”