July 26, 2008
New Principal Ready For School
Jim White is taking over at Marquette High School this year.
Author: Amanda Haverstick
Reprinted with Permission from The News-Dispatch (Michigan City, IN)
MICHIGAN CITY - Marquette Catholic High School's new principal, Jim White, is anxious to get the first few weeks of school under way.
"It's just exciting and fresh," White said. "The pieces are getting into place and we're getting excited about doing stuff."
He replaces John Albert who had served as principal since 2006.
White said so far he likes everything about Marquette.
"The kids are absolutely tremendous," White said. "The kids here take real pride in themselves and in the school."
A Long Beach resident, White said the opportunity to work in what he now considers his hometown is unique.
"You don't get that opportunity a lot as an administrator," White said. "My entire background, growing up, was in Catholic schools. I had all of that kind of traditional upbringing. Then I went full circle around into Hammond which was completely opposite of almost everything I'd ever known."
White was a journalism teacher in Hammond for 14 years before he became principal of Gavit Middle and High School.
White holds a bachelor's degree in English/Journalism from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a master's degree in secondary administration and supervision from Indiana State University.
"My background has pretty much been in an urban environment working with poverty ridden children," White said. "I worked my way up from the ground up."
Prior to his teaching career, White worked in hotel management.
He was working as a building manager for the River Forest Community Center in River Forest, Ill., the town where he was raised.
"That's probably what launched me back into getting my teaching degree ... working with those kids," White said. "It just flowered from there. I think I've found my niche."
White said he enjoys working with the students and finds kids to be positive people.
"It's nice to have the opportunity to work with children all day. Not to many people get that opportunity," White said. "It's exciting, it's energetic. It's really refreshing to be around kids all day."
One of White's goals is to enrich the tradition at Marquette. "We have to offer kids another choice," White said. "Eventually, my vision for this school is to be a pillar ... of excellence, that people go to extreme measures to want to send their kids to this school because it's the best school."
He also wants to increase the Catholic identity of the school.
"I am definitely seeking involvement from (clergy)," White said. "We need visibility from the church."
He plans on creating two new positions - a development enrollment coordinator and an academic advisor. White explained the positions are a re-utilization of the existing staff, not adding extra positions.
"When you're looking at a school, you have to see it in operation before you can really do anything," White said. "I'm anxious to get the first couple of weeks of school cooking so that I can see how the routines work."
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