By Whitley Sway Former Latin teacher and football coach, Mr. Paul Romolo, was named Principal this past summer. In preparation for this role, he attended grad school and participated in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Aspiring Leaders for Catholic Educators program. He is eager to take on this leadership for the McNicholas students and faculty and spoke to the McNicholas Milestone about his goals for the year.
Q: How has the transition been going from being a teacher to principal?
A: It’s a totally different view of school and student/teacher life. I find it life giving and I’m excited about it; it has been a lot different.
Q: Were you always wanting to have a role like this in a school or did this come new to you? And why?
A: It came more recently. A few years ago, I got involved with administrative things and with our accreditation. I was also on the principal hiring committee. Those experiences gave me a different view of school and that is what piqued my interest.
Q: Was there anything specific that changed your view of student life/teacher life?
A: After those two experiences, the following year I did a program with the archdiocese called the Aspiring Leaders for Catholic Educators to grow their administrative skill set and give them a peek of what administrative life is like. That program sold me on being an administrator.
Q: What are your goals for this coming school year and in the near future?
A: I want to make sure we don’t lose any of the momentum that we have picked up as a community. We’re achieving good things, and I’m hopeful we can keep those things moving forward first and foremost. We want to make sure CREW is a robust and compelling experience for the students and manageable for the teachers.
Q: Are there any active changes happening now that you were wanting to see?
A: CREW is the biggest change at the moment. We switched to same grade level crews, and we are currently working to see what that means and what CREW looks like based on that.
Q: What are your plans to implement the changes you are wanting to make to CREW?
A: With the change of switching to same grade level crews, we’re trying to make that a meaningful decision. What you will start to see is some grade level programming and those programs will reflect the virtues of CREW (courage, resilience, enthusiasm, and wisdom). The deans, Mr. Naumann, and Mr. Losekamp have been working on that programming.
Q: Why was the grade level change officially decided?
A: It was an engagement piece; we saw each grade was sitting together in the mixed crews. We got student feedback that there might be more student engagement, students may be more comfortable sharing with their peers as opposed to a mixed-up group. Another thing this change will allow is that CREW will stay the same. Now there will be a known quantity and it will be the same students all four years, and it will allow people to build those relationships.
Q: Are there specific activities planned for CREW besides the ones we have done in the past?
A: A lot of the same programming will stay in place, such as the eraser toss. I have asked for 6-8 meaningful experiences based on the theme associated with the grade level, which is a work in progress, but it is in development to make those good experiences.
Q: How are you wanting CREW to be perceived?
A: CREW is meant to be a safe home for everyone — meaningful relationships with those students and mentor teacher that will grow over the course of the four years together. It should be a place where school culture gets delivered and students can experience that. With the new Tuesday office hours, a time to meet with counselors, catch up on work/quiz, or talk to a teacher, there are going to be opportunities to get academic work done.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: I’m really excited about this opportunity and looking forward to serving you all. My door is always open; I think CREW is going to go as far as students take it, so I encourage you all to use this opportunity of transition to take it and make it your own. Don’t be afraid to put your own stamp on it.
The McNicholas Milestone 