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March 2, 2008

High school president named superintendent

By Michelle Martin

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Dominican Sister M. Paul McCaughey, a graduate of Catholic schools in the archdiocese, will take the reins as superintendent of Catholic schools July 1.

McCaughey, who currently serves as president of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, will make the transition from leading one high school with about 1,500 students to an archdiocesan system with 98,000 students in 217 elementary and 39 secondary schools.

“It’s going to be interesting,” said Mc- Caughey, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. “I plan to go and see some representative schools within the system, and to make myself available during the transition.”

McCaughey, 58, has spent the last 14 years at Marian Catholic, her own alma mater (class of 1967). During that time, she has served as president, principal and, for several years, both.

She will remain as president until the end of June, she said.

But in the meantime, she will be working on plans for implementing the Genesis program, a strategic plan for Catholic schools emphasizing Catholic identity, academic excellence and financial vitality.

Among the elements of the plan is the establishment of an archdiocesan board of education to help find community resources and offer advice to the schools.

“I think we have a grand situation here,” she said. “We have a lot of history to call on, and we have a lot of promise. … I’d like to have the help of the people who do the hardest work.”

In that group, she included principals, teachers, parents and others.

“I’ve just got so many people praying for me,” McCaughey said. “I have no reason to believe the Catholic community that has loved and nourished me is not going to continue to do that for the Catholic schools. It’s a matter of how do we work together to forward the kingdom and to love each other?”

McCaughey said she had not applied for the job as superintendent, but was approached by the search committee after someone recommended her for the job. Cardinal George said that thee finalists he interviewed for the positions all were fine candidates with their own strengths. One of the things that set McCaughey apart was her roots in the archdiocese, where she attended St. Paul of the Cross and Mary Seat of Wisdom schools in Park Ridge and Infant Jesus of Prague School in Flossmoor before going on to Marian Catholic.

“She’s a very fine witness to the effectiveness of our Catholic schools,” Cardinal George said at a Feb. 15 press conference introducing McCaughey to the media.

“She is an outstanding presence in one of our best Catholic high schools, and she is recognized by her peers.”

McCaughey led Marian Catholic through two major capital campaigns and helped oversee the construction of a new fine arts wing, the primary competition gymnasium, the Leadership Center/Student Union, a new college room, greenhouse, Campus Ministry area, two science labs and the $1.9 million Dominican Way classroom addition.

The school received a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon in 1995-96 and Marian was named to the Catholic High School Honor Roll, which recognizes the top 50 secondary schools in America, in 2004 and 2006.

McCaughey replaces former superintendent Nicholas Wolsonovich, who resigned in January and was hired to lead the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Orlando, Fla. Sister of Saint Joseph Judith Cauley, the associate superintendent for system vitality, and Marty Frauenheim, the associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, will continue to serve as interim co-superintendents.

Among the issues she faces are the twin challenges of finding financial support and maintaining enrollment. Doing that, she said, means making the schools the best they can be.

“If you build it, they will come,” she said. “Our first job is to be who we say we are. … The schools do not belong just to parents, and parents will not be able to sustain them. They belong to our Catholic community and they are our jewels. The kids are going back into our parishes, and they are not just smart people. They are good people who can think and pray.”