Thursday, July 8, 2010

Statement on Mrs. McGill's departure to the Granite School District

Dear Parents,

It is with regret that I write to inform you that our Principal, Christina Vierra-McGill, has accepted another administrative position with the Granite School District. She will begin her new assignment on August 1st.

Firstly, I want to congratulate Mrs. McGill on the acquisition of a new post that meets both her professional and personal needs. Throughout this process, Mrs. McGill has indicated to me her deep commitment to the mission of the Choir School. Unfortunately, with a child going into Gonzaga University and two students at Judge Memorial, financial realities are necessitating this move to the public system. It is regrettable that we are not able to match both the salaries and the benefits of the public school system, but that is indeed far beyond our means. As she has stated, while her heart is at the Choir School her family exigencies make this move crucial.

Mrs. McGill has accomplished a great deal in her three years as Principal and the eight years of service to the Choir School. In recent years, she oversaw the acquisition of a new technology lab, she has accessed more public funding to assist us with the professional development of the teachers and students with special needs, and she leaves us with a complete faculty ready to begin its work this August. Plans to celebrate her work among us are taking shape and we will inform you as soon as details become available.

Secondly, I want to assure that while this is a loss to our professional staff, plans are already underway to carefully manage this change and ensure that the coming school year is highly successful. The leadership team, school board and key members of the faculty are being consulted at this time in order to provide for a seamless transition and a thorough search and hiring process. Given the late notice of this new assignment, it would be imprudent of us to rush to hire a replacement. We will work together to put into place a very effective interim situation that will ensure that our coming fifteenth school year will be even better than year fourteen. I have every confidence that our very talented faculty and staff will continue to engage our young people with academic rigor, effective character formation, challenging activities and athletics, and music that inspires both performer and listener alike.

Because of this extraordinary situation, I will stay in contact with you throughout the summer to provide further information as details become available. If you have any concerns or questions, I urge you to contact me by email at gglenn@madeleinechoirschool.org. Please do not hesitate: no question or concern is trivial. Changes are always unsettling, but you have my assurance that the Choir School will continue to grow and develop in its service to the young people entrusted to our care. We will thank and congratulate Mrs. McGill, and have a great school year ahead.

Respectfully,

Gregory Glenn
Pastoral Administrator