As current principal, Mr. Deely will soon head south to Tennessee, while Cathedral will pick up its new principal from Louisiana. Associate Superintendent of the Archdiocese of Louisiana, Mr. Kevin Calkins will become CCHS’s new principal come fall and hopes his passion for Catholic education will help him become a part of the Cathedral community.

Mr. Calkins started his teaching career at Xavier High School, an all-boy’s high school in Middletown, Connecticut, where he “literally did everything and really immersed myself in the life of the school,” he said. To do this, he lived on-campus with the Xaverian Brothers and was a teacher, coach, and club moderator. During his time at Xavier, Mr. Calkins also studied for his master’s degree at Fordham University and held his first administrative jobs as the Dean of Discipline and Dean of Academics.

After meeting his wife, Beth, the two moved out to Los Angeles. Mr. Calkins then became the Dean of Academics at Verbum Dei High School, where he was responsible for all areas related to curriculum and instruction at the school. A Cristo Rey model school run by Jesuits, economically disadvantaged students at Verbum Dei attend school four days a week and work one day a week. The main benefit of the Cristo Rey model is that the money students earn at their job goes directly towards their tuition.

“Though they may not be earning a paycheck, The Corporate Work Study Program at Verbum Dei provides jobs for these students where they can develop life and business skills that they otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn,” said Mr. Calkins.

A friend in Texas tipped Mr. Calkins off to his next job. A high school was being “built from the ground up” and he was invited to apply for the job of principal. For the next four years of his career, Mr. Calkins was dedicated to the opening and upstart of St. Dominic Savio High School in Austin, Texas. “I’ve never worked harder in my life…starting something from scratch and literally developing every part of the school,” he said.

After four years at St. Dominic Savio, Mr. Calkins and his family moved to New Orleans, where he became the Associate Superintendent of the Archdiocese. For Mr. Calkins, this job was different than his previous positions because he was “less involved with the day-to-day operations of a school…and had to look at Catholic education on a more macro level,” he said.

As Associate Superintendent Mr. Calkins focused on professional development for counselors and administrators, developing unique spiritual identities for all of the schools and providing oversight and direction for Catholic education in the diocese. When Mr. Calkins joined the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the archdiocese was in the beginning stages of implementing a strategic plan to further the field of Catholic education. This strategic plan was developed to address a number of issues within the diocese of New Orleans. The plan set initiatives in place to address uniform grade level structure, uniform grade point average calculator, the growth of faith, and the furthering of financial aid to help with the rising cost of Catholic education.

Mr. Calkins, when he was younger, chose to go to a public high school because he did not want to attend the same school as his older brother, who attended a Catholic high school nearby. He also went for friends and sports, which he sees as “two of the worst reasons to make a decision about your academics,” he said. “I look back on that decision and think of what a knucklehead I was.”

Since then, Catholic education has become major part of Mr. Calkins’ life. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at Boston College, his Master’s at Fordham University, and is currently working on his PhD at The Catholic University of America. Since he is working on obtaining his PhD, Mr. Calkins was not “actively looking” for other employment when he found out about the opening for a principal at Cathedral. However, he and his wife had previously decided that if “such a great opportunity” became available, they would seriously consider it. Their family spent a lot of time thinking, talking, and praying about making another move out to California. It is especially important to the Calkins’ that their five-year-old son, Liam, be rooted in a community.

After a “grueling, intense, but very good” application and interview process and an official visit to Cathedral in March, as Mr. Calkins said, “Cathedral decided I was good for them. I decided Cathedral was good for me. The rest is history.”

Mr. Calkins hopes that his enthusiasm for Catholic education will help him in the coming school year. He is very excited to join the Cathedral community and to help students succeed academically and spiritually. “The real benefit of Catholic education is the formation of the human person and helping students understand the value of Church, faith, family, and purposes greater than themselves,” he said.