The new school year will bring a new face in leadership at St. Francis Catholic School in La Grange.
Sharon Garcia of Homer Glen, who previously was a principal at Brook Park Elementary School in La Grange Park for nine years, has been hired as principal of the school that offers preschool through eighth grade.
Most recently, Garcia was principal at Nazarene School in Lemont for 8 years. She started her career as a classroom teacher for first, third and fifth grades, and was an assistant principal at Ridgeland School District 122 in Oak Lawn.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Benedictine University and a master’s degree in education administration from Governor’s State University.
Garcia said she was drawn to the job at St. Francis in part because she is familiar with and likes the La Grange community. She also likes some of the work occurring at St. Francis to improve academics.
“They have many initiatives going on. I knew they were trying to improve their curricula in math and language arts,” she said.
The school is incorporating various forms of technology into classrooms including iPads, white boards, Chromebooks and laptops.
“They’re bringing useful technologies into the classrooms,” she said.
Garcia also applauded the school’s introduction of blended learning, an educational program in which a student learns at least in part through instruction delivered via digital and online media with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace.
She likes an imitative St. Francis uses called Responsive Classroom, that approaches teaching with a strong emphasis on academics as well as social emotional growth.
The school’s capital campaign also was a draw.
“They have some exciting construction going on,” she said. “We’re going to have a new gym and a new multipurpose classroom in Joyce Hall.”
One challenge the school, like other Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago, faces is decreasing enrollment. The school has 565 students for the 2016-2017 school year, which Garcia said is a small decrease from last year.
She said she, along with other staff, will continue to work to promote the school. St. Francis, she noted, is well supported by the parish as whole.
“That’s evident in the capital campaign,” she said.
Garcia said the staff at St. Francis is very talented and wants to see that they take prominent roles in shaping the school’s future.
“I’m a big believer that if your staff is talented then bring those talents forward,” she said.
Meg Miles, president of the school board, said she believes the right applicant was chosen.
“We were looking for a strong leader who could inspire and unify a large faculty and staff, who had a passion for students and who wanted to be in a Catholic school environment,” Miles said.
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Miles compared St. Francis to a large and complex ship and believes Garcia “will confidently grab hold of the wheel, set a course and steer that ship in the right direction.”
She added that Garcia has strength of character, as well as a practical attitude and experience.
Garcia and her husband, Steve, have two sons, ages 14 and 13.
When she’s not at school, Garcia said there’s a good chance you will find her with her family at an athletic venue.
“You’d probably find us at the hockey rink or lacrosse field,” she said.
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