Print Issue: April 11, 2002

Cobb Educator Named First Principal Of St. Catherine Of Siena School

By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

KENNESAW - With over 25 years of teaching and administrative experience in public schools, Robyn Planchard has been named to chart a parochial path as founding principal of St. Catherine of Siena School.

The new parish school will open this fall serving kindergarten through third grade, with an additional grade added each year.

Planchard began working on a contractual basis for St. Catherine of Siena April 1, but will assume the position full time July 1. She is currently assistant principal at Cooper Middle School in Cobb County, which she helped to open last fall.

"I'm looking forward to being an educational leader and role model who can ensure a Christian, Catholic education for students" in Kennesaw and Cobb County, said Planchard, 54.

"The knowledge I have gained as an administrator who did help to open (Cooper Middle School) made me feel like I would be able to offer a lot of things and be successful in helping St. Catherine's get started."

While it is difficult to leave a school where she worked in scheduling and instructional leadership, Planchard, whose three children attended Catholic schools in Baton Rouge, La., through prayer and reflection felt a call to serve St. Catherine's. It will be her first opportunity to be a principal.

"I had reached a pinnacle in public education. I felt at this point in my life I'm truly called to give something (back) to the church and community and I think the best way to do that would be by working at a Catholic school," she said.

Planchard previously served from 1998-2000 as a learning support strategist at Dodgen Middle School and from 2000-2001 as an assistant administrator at Pine Mountain Middle School, both in Cobb County. She taught in middle and elementary schools in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Florida for 25 years, including Rocky Mount Elementary School and East Cobb Middle School in Cobb County.

Planchard holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in elementary education and supervision from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. She and her husband, Charles, are members of Holy Family Church, Marietta.

The archdiocese and the Department of Catholic Education, working with Father Jim Harrison, the pastor, and staff, in late January authorized the opening of St. Catherine of Siena School. It will use existing religious education classrooms for kindergarten through third grade, with two sections of each grade. The school is projected to start with 17 to 20 children in each classroom and will become a K-8 school. The school, with a tuition of $4,900 per year per child, will be self-funded, as is the case for any new school in the archdiocese because of the indebtedness assumed by the Department of Catholic Education to build and open five new schools in 1999 and 2000. At the same time active Catholic families will be able to apply for tuition assistance from a fund maintained by the archdiocese for this purpose.

The parish conducted a feasibility study to measure parental support for the school and the project had to be approved by archdiocesan financial bodies.

A parish committee started their principal search in late January. Nine candidates, all with master's degrees, one with a doctorate, and with a mixture of Catholic and public school experience, were interviewed. Committee head Mack Henderson, a retired operations manager for Bell South, said that while all were "excellent," members decided unanimously on Planchard.

"We felt she was our best candidate (because of) her passion for education, her strong desire to see young people excel and get the foundation and, then too, she had seen the benefits of Catholic education that her children had received," he said. "She just has what I referred to in my corporate life before I retired, what I call enthusi-usiasm. She exuded the spirit and passion for teaching and learning. And then she's working hard to select some teachers that will fit the image she wants to present."

Planchard said her previous work in training teachers to improve performance will be something to draw on as she recruits faculty. "One of the strengths I have is working with other teachers to help them find ways to teach to a variety of learning styles students will have."

She thinks one of her greatest challenges will be to hire teachers who are both well-qualified and committed Catholics and role models. She hopes to have the faculty set by May 1.

Student applications, already sent out to over 125 inquiring families, largely at St. Catherine's, are being reviewed. Interested families are encouraged to contact the parish. The admissions' process is open to all. A date for testing prospective students will be announced. St. Catherine's will be one of the first Catholic schools in the archdiocese to apply for accreditation through the Southern Association of Independent Schools instead of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

"It will be one of the pilot schools to look at (SAIS) accreditation and see how it can best help Catholic schools," Planchard said.

Her "love of the children" is what has kept her in education, and she believes that one of the educator's most important roles is to "work to uncover students' strengths and it gives me joy." And she sees the principal's roles as both educational and managerial leader as equally important.

"I think what we're looking to do at St. Catherine's is to strive to educate the whole child. In order to do this we want to provide a safe and caring learning environment and a quality Catholic education."

A firm believer in Catholic education, she saw the important role it played in shaping her own children's faith. "I bring to the job the knowledge and ability to see as a parent sees in looking at a good Catholic education," she continued.

With her children's education "the thing that stood out the most was the way my children became models of their faith at an early age, that the spiritual part of the education became so important to them. That is one of the things I feel is (one of) the most beneficial parts of their Catholic education."

"I truly, truly believe with prayer and collaboration we can build an atmosphere of excellence at St. Catherine's," she said. "I'm really truly excited about this door I'm getting to walk through and I think it's going to be a wonderful beginning."

For information call St. Catherine of Siena Church at (770) 428-7139.