Curt D. Gardner Named New Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School Principal

Friday, March 1, 2019 at 7:52 PM

By Philip J. Kahn, President Prince of Peace Catholic Schools

Currently at Pope John XXIII Elementary School

Prince of Peace Catholic Schools are very excited to announce that we have concluded the Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School Principal search process. We have offered the position to Mr. Curt D. Gardner, the current Principal of Pope John XXIII Elementary School. Mr. Gardner is an alumni of Pope John and Shawe from the class of 1998.

The search committee gathered resume’s for the position over the last few weeks and through mutual discussions between Mr. Phil Kahn, President of Prince of Peace Catholic Schools, and Mr. Gardner it led to him being strongly considered for the position. ”Mr. Gardner has been a Shawe and Pope John supporter for his entire life. We are very lucky to have someone with his knowledge, passion, vision and love for our schools to now lead the Jr. High and High School,” said President Phil Kahn.

“I am not sure we could have hired an individual more qualified and that will represent our Jr./High and High School better than Mr. Gardner. He has led Pope John for the last 7 years and has done so in a first class manner. He is a very caring individual who communicates well and has worked closely with our staff, students and families. We are very fortunate that he will still have a strong connection to Pope John as he becomes the Principal at Shawe Memorail” Kahn added.

“Mr. Gardner replaces Mr. Steve Hesse who has Principal for the last 7 years and was a longtime teacher at Shawe and Pope John before that. We are very sad to see Steve Hesse leave, but he has given the schools his heart and soul and we wish both he and his lovely family the best of luck,” said Kahn. Steve Hesse added, “I am very happy for the Prince of Peace community to have Mr. Curt Gardner accept the position of Principal of Shawe. Mr. Gardner is a faith-filled person with a strategic vision for our schools. With his Shawe experience, the transition should be seamless. I wish nothing but the best to Mr. Gardner and Prince of Peace Catholic Schools.”

Mr. Chris Gage led the search committee as the chair and I asked him to share his thoughts, “As search committee chair and President of the school commission, it gives me pleasure to announce Curt Gardner as the next Shawe Memorial Principal! As a Shawe graduate, Prince of Peace parish member and Pope John Principal for the last seven years, Curt has demonstrated his commitment to our schools, the community, and most importantly, the young minds he helps shape. Curt is grounded in his faith and leads by the core values and principles of the Archdiocese. The search committee was more than impressed with his vision for Shawe, and the level of compassion he demonstrated knowing some students will be saddened by his departure. However, Pope John’s loss is a gain for our entire school community as our school leadership can now begin a collaborative transition process. As a parent of Pope John students I am comforted knowing Mr. Gardner will be just next door at Shawe and visible to all students on our campus. Please join me in congratulating Curt.

Mr. Gardner will finish the year as the Pope John Principal and start the 2019-20 school year as the Shawe Memorial Principal and also carry the role as Assistant Principal at Pope John XXIII Elementary. Now the search committee will focus on finding the best person to lead Pope John for the 2019-20 school year. The Pope John position will be posted immediately. The committee will be looking for someone with strong leadership skills and we will prefer someone with Principal experience. This position will also carry the title of Pope John Principal and Shawe Memorial Assistant Principal. I am very confident that we will hire a great leader of Pope John XXIII to build on the tremendous environment that he and his staff have created. Our schools are always viewed as one school family and our Principals will be able to support each other better along with the staff, student and families when they are connected to both schools.