Principle Sue Venable Retirement Announcement

Holy Rosary School Families:

When our principal Sue Venable was hired at Holy Rosary in 2012, she had already retired as assistant superintendent for the Edmonds School District. At that time she said that she would give Holy Rosary five years: she has given us nine years!

Last March Sue announced to me that she would retire at the end of this school year, and what a year it has been! This news causes us to be both sad and to celebrate – she has had a long and wonderful career, and her retirement is well-earned. She will be missed.

Sue leaves an impressive legacy: she is a faith-filled leader, committed to enhancing the relationship between our parish and school. She has consistently raised the enrollment since she arrived, and now our enrollment is almost at capacity. Sue has kept the teacher morale and parent satisfaction high. She has maintained high spiritual and academic standards, and in this year of COVID, she has done an amazing job of getting our school to be one of the first in the area to deliver in-classroom education. Her love for her students is unsurpassed.

In honor of her many contributions to Holy Rosary School, we will be hosting several celebratory events for teachers, students and parents, taking into account our need to be COVID compliant:

Celebratory Mass: we will have a small number of students from each grade present in the church, and it will be live-streamed into our classrooms for the remainder of the students, and to parents who wish to join.
I have asked Ruth Foisy, currently our 4^th grade teacher and Vice Principal, along with Office Manager, Cheri Orsi to coordinate with the teachers, students and School Commission in generating additional ideas to celebrate Sue. Feel free to contact Ruth at [email protected] or Cheri at [email protected] with your ideas and suggestions.

Next Steps
Consistent with the protocols of the Archdiocese of Seattle we will be doing the following to identify a successor:

In early April, we will post a job description on the Archdiocese website. All qualified candidates are welcome to apply.
A Search Committee has been established and includes representatives from the School Commission, parents, parishioners and teachers. The Search Committee consists of several working groups that contribute to preparation of the job description and posting processes, screening and interviewing applicants, conducting background and reference checks, and collaborating with the School Commission and myself in determining the final candidate. Joining me on the Search Committee are: Molly McCollough (Chair), Dan Wartelle (School Commission), Marie Vrablik (parent), Susan Suver (parishioner), Terri Fewell (Archdiocese representative), and Julie Morris, Malia Santucci and Allison Streicher (staff). Members of the parish/school staff do not participate in candidate interviews.
As part of the process, we’ll be seeking parent/family input on “key qualities” of the Principal through a short survey in April; look for more information on this within the next few weeks.
When the new Principal is named, I will be working directly with him/her as we prepare to return to school in September.

This will be a season of change for the school; new leadership brings new ideas, experience and perspectives. We will build on the legacy that Sue Venable leaves with us: a dedicated and caring teaching staff, outstanding academic standards and performance, strong fiscal management, and a “can-do” spirit. Importantly, we will continue to foster a Catholic culture that engages our students and their families as a Eucharistic community that is central to our continued faith formation, service and growth as disciples of Christ.

Please join me in congratulating Sue on her long and successful career, and celebrating her upcoming retirement.

In Christ,