23 new leaders at Archdiocese of Boston Catholic schools. Published 9/4/2015

Local
23 new leaders at Archdiocese of Boston Catholic schools

By Christopher S. Pineo
Posted: 9/4/2015

CC BY-SA 2.0/Eric E. Castro via Flickr

BRAINTREE -- As students begin their classes for the new 2015-2016 academic year, 23 new top administrators at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston will also be beginning their tenure.

The new school leaders are (alphabetically by school):

Cathedral High School, Boston -- Principal Helenann Civian. Civian has over 20 years of educational experience. Most recently, she was principal at Randolph Community Middle School and was previously director of expanded learning time for the Massachusetts 2020 Foundation and an adjunct professor of education at Northeastern University.

Catholic Memorial, West Roxbury -- Principal Thomas Beatty. A long-time teacher at Catholic Memorial, for 13 years he has served as department chair of the school's mathematics department.

Cristo Rey Boston High School, Dorchester -- President James MacDonald. A native Bostonian, MacDonald has taught and administered at the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels of Catholic education in New York, Florida, Texas and Massachusetts. Among his previous positions, he served as president of his alma mater, Catholic Memorial, from 1999 through 2008.

Elizabeth Seton Academy, Dorchester -- Head of School Michael Bonina. Bonina comes to Seton Academy from Boston College High School, where he was the Religious Education Department Chair in addition to other managerial roles.

Immaculate Conception School, Revere -- Principal Stephen Hanley. A native of Jamaica Plain and a long-time resident of Framingham, Hanley comes to Immaculate Conception from WAITT House, an education center founded by the Sisters of Charity in Roxbury, where he was executive director.

Monsignor James J. Haddad Middle School, Needham -- Principal Jared Belliveau. Belliveau is originally from Malden and now resides in Reading. He holds a master's degree in teaching from Emmanuel College and a law degree from Boston College.

Notre Dame Academy, Hingham -- President Jamie Collins. A native of Northern Ireland, he is the former principal of San Gabriel Mission High School, an all-girls' Catholic high school, in San Gabriel, Calif.

St. Agatha School, Milton -- Principal Kyle Egan. Egan comes from CATS Academy Boston in Newton, where he held the role of math teacher; athletics and activities director and coach; and director of studies, mathematics and science. Prior to working at CATS Academy, Egan was a teacher and coach in the Midwest.

St. Benedict Elementary School, Natick -- Headmaster Jay Boren. Originally from Alabama, Boren spent 12 years as a theology teacher and coach at his alma mater McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, Ala. He currently resides in Lowell.

St. Charles Borromeo School, Woburn -- Principal Cara Blanchette. Originally from Indianapolis and a resident of Cambridge, Blanchette is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Notre Dame.

St. Clement School, Medford --Executive Director Father Stefano Colombo, FSCB. Pastor at St. Clement since June 2013, Father Colombo has taught in Mexico, Washington D.C., and the Archdiocese of Boston over the past 20 years. A member of the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo, he most recently taught at Cristo Rey, Boston.

St. John Paul II Catholic Academy (Lower Mills), Dorchester -- Principal Lisa Warshafsky. Warshafsky has been at St. John Paul II Catholic Academy, Lower Mills Campus, for the past six years, as a guidance counselor for the first four years and as director of guidance for SJP2CA for the remainder.

St. John the Evangelist School, Beverly -- Principal Tom Walsh. Currently completing a CAGS Program for Educational Leadership at Salem State University, Walsh started teaching at St. John's as an aide in February 1997 and previously served as assistant to the principal, then teaching assistant principal.

St. John the Evangelist School, Wellesley -- Principal Michael Dibbert. Dibbert has taught at Grace-St. Luke School in Memphis and Boston College High School. For the past five years he has been an administrator at The American School in Switzerland.

St. Joseph School, Medford -- Principal Suzanne Hickey. A long-time Cambridge resident, Hickey worked in Cambridge and Lawrence public schools before becoming assistant principal at the Bowditch School in Salem.

St. Mary Junior and Senior High School, Lynn -- Interim Principal James Ridley. Prior to this position, Ridley acted as the interim principal at Breed Middle School and Marshall Middle School, both in Lynn. He held leadership positions at Breed Middle School and Lynn Vocational Technical Institute before his "retirement" in August 2010.

St. Mary Star of the Sea School, Beverly -- Principal Dan Bouchard. Bouchard, who lives in Amesbury, has been a Catholic school teacher for the past 16 years and counselor for three. For the past eight years he has taught in Beverly Catholic schools.

St. Paul Choir School, Cambridge -- Headmaster Michael Lescault. Lescault has worked at Pope John XXIII Central High School in Everett, Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton, and, most recently, Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody. He is a native of West Roxbury and now resides in Walpole.

St. Paul School, Hingham -- Principal Lisa Fasano. A resident of Marshfield, Fasano holds degrees from Colby-Sawyer College and Bridgewater State, and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership from Cambridge College.

St. Raphael School, Medford -- Principal Mark Bedrosian. A native of Danvers and resident of Gloucester, Bedrosian holds degrees from UMass Lowell and Salem State, and completed the Principal's Licensure Program offered by Massachusetts Elementary School Principals' Association and Northeastern University.

St. Theresa of Avila School, West Roxbury -- Principal Jean Leahy. Leahy started her career teaching in the Boston Public Schools and during her tenure held many teaching and administrative positions. For the last five years she served as principal of a private special education school. She lives in Westwood.

Trinity Catholic Academy (Lower Campus), Brockton -- Principal Kristin Blanchette. A resident of Dorchester, Blanchette has been teaching for the past six years at Trinity Catholic Academy.

Ursuline Academy, Dedham -- Interim Principal Kathleen Levesque. An alumna of Ursuline Academy, Levesque was appointed to the board in 2000 and served as the Academy's first president from 2004 through 2007.