The 2011-2012 school year is well underway and I am proud to share with you some exciting changes in our administrative structure at St. Agnes Academy. As Sr. Jane continues to lead us in our Dominican mission, and as we continue to grow in our academic and extracurricular programs, we saw the need to create the position of principal to oversee the complex daily operations of our school. After 13 years as the academic dean and director of admissions, I am honored to assume this new position. I believe very strongly in the mission of our academy and I look forward to leading our faculty and students toward even greater growth and excellence. And of course, I do not work alone. It takes a team of talented and dedicated educators to help create and maintain the excellent standards we have at St. Agnes. I am privileged to work with a highly competent team, comprised of the following individuals:
Kimberly Scoville, '95, is our new academic dean. Kim was the associate academic dean for the past six years and is more than prepared to assume her new role. A graduate of Stanford University, she received her master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston and has already established herself as an excellent role model for both our faculty and our student body. Kim will oversee all curriculum development and is in charge of faculty evaluation and professional growth.
Elaine Eichelberger, '79, has spent the last 10 years in the St. Agnes advancement department as both the director of alumnae and then as the director of advancement. Bold and courageous like many of our academy women, she is ready to take on the challenge of being the dean of students. She is excited to be working with our young women and helping them grow in all aspects of school life. Ms. Eichelberger has a master's degree from the University of Houston.
Debbie Skelly is the veteran of our team as she begins her 27th year at St. Agnes Academy. She has worn many hats over the years, including a 10 year stint as the athletic director. This is her 12th year as the director of guidance. She has a master's degree from the University of Houston and brings an incredible wealth of knowledge about the college application and selection process. She oversees a talented group of counselors who help our students navigate through every facet of high school life.
Lynn Kercheval has been a fixture in our athletics department for over 20 years. She is both the head varsity volleyball and softball coach and has helped St. Agnes bring home dozens of championships. She has been the athletic director since 1998. She and her softball team look forward to using our new fields for their upcoming season!
Brigid Schiro, '81, is not new to St. Agnes. Many know her as the former dean of students, and before that as a student herself. This year she has assumed the role of director of admissions. Rather than focus her energy on our current students as she did for the past 9 years as the dean, she will now focus her energy on recruiting future generations of academy women. She has some great ideas for attracting fabulous students to our school.
Anna Sklut is the newest member of our team and has joined us as the director of campus ministry. She recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame with an MA in theology through the Echo Faith Formation Leadership Program. She worked for the past two years as an apprentice catechetical leader at St. Ignatius in Spring, TX. She has a ton of youthful energy and vitality and is already making great strides toward helping our young women grow in their faith life. Sr. Mary Brenda, OP, has returned to St. Agnes as our associate campus minister and I feel sure these two women are going to continue to breathe life into our Dominican charism.
The principal's team meets weekly to discuss and explore the challenges of running a school of our size and caliber. We are all looking forward to the challenges of the years ahead and we are excited to be working together. It is a strong team with a great work ethic. Our team effort began last June when we met for a retreat to plan for the upcoming school year. Together we designed the opening school inservice for faculty and staff, we prepared for Tiger Camp orientation for our incoming 9th graders, we planned Mass for the first day of school, we resolved potential calendar conflicts with Strake Jesuit, we built community and we bonded as a new team. We were particularly excited to spruce up the opening inservice with a required reading component for all faculty. Summer reading is not just for our students! We read the book The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine, Ph.D., and had a lively and engaging discussion led by academic dean Kim Scoville. The book addresses the "culture of affluence" in today's society and how parental pressure and material advantage are creating a generation of disconnected and unhappy kids. We explored ways to help our students gain perspective when they fail; how we can continue to assist our students in finding and celebrating their unique gifts and talents; how to deemphasize external motivation and foster more internal motivation and love of learning; how to look to our school's mission and values as an antidote to some of the emotional disorders that result from the culture of affluence. The activity was so well received that a group of teachers has continued to meet to explore the themes in the book during their lunch hour. The feedback about our "faculty summer reading" was so positive that we are already receiving recommendations for next summer's selection!
All in all, it has been an awesome start to our new school year. Stay tuned for more exciting news about new and growing programs such as speech/debate, engineering team, field hockey and more!
Deborah Whalen
dwhalen@st-agnes.org
