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MARIETTA—Laura Riley, principal of St. Joseph School, has
told the Department of Catholic Education that she will resign as principal
effective at the end of the current school year. Riley, who is in her third
year as principal of the school, said that her plans following June 30 are
uncertain.
By contractual agreement, principals must inform the archdiocese
by Feb.1 if they intend to renew their contract for the following year,
according to Judith Mucheck, superintendent of Catholic schools.
Riley said that the timing of her decision was not linked to the
announcement by the Department of Catholic Education concerning a self-funded
model for the proposed new west Cobb County school. The school and parish
communities were being informed of her decision this week.
In a statement to The Georgia Bulletin she said, “St. Joseph
is a strong community based on a common, Catholic bond. It has traditionally
faced any challenge within its path with courage, wisdom, and a can-do spirit.
With the dedication of its committed parents and teachers, it will continue to
provide an excellent Catholic education for its students. As I start on my new
journey, I will always hold St. Joseph School close to my heart, and always in
my prayers.”
Before coming to the archdiocese, Riley served as an assistant
principal at Annunciation Catholic School in Columbus, Miss., a kindergarten
through sixth-grade school. She holds a master’s degree in educational
administration.
Father Paul Berny, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, said the news of
her decision was “a great disappointment, a terrible disappointment to us
here.” He said she had been “such an asset” to the school and to
lose her after only a few years as principal saddened him greatly. “She is
such a wonderfully competent person and she is so beloved here.”
As principal, Riley accepted the challenge of leading the school
community through the difficult process of planning to close the existing
school in order to move into the proposed new school. The process was deeply
divisive for the school and parish communities, Father Berny said, with
families on either side of the debate. He credited the principal with putting
her reputation on the line in backing the proposed new school throughout the
process. “I am sorry to lose her,” he said. “I wish her
well.”
Born in the Hague, in the Netherlands, Riley speaks Dutch and
French and taught French and creative and critical thinking skills in a program
for gifted students at St. Mary’s School in Columbus, Miss., from 1987-93.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary and gifted education from
Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, and received her master’s
degree from Mississippi State University in Starkville in 1995. She has also
taught English as a second language to Hispanics and Asians and GED classes to
at-risk teens and adults in Mississippi.
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