The Winds of Change

If you are like me, answering a ringing telephone at 7:00am produces a groggy and fairly befuddled response. Fortunately for me, the originator of the call was a computer featuring the recorded voice of our Principal, Pat Bonacci, AFSC (and therefore not requiring me to speak in complete sentences) alerting us to the fact that school had been cancelled for the day because of the enormous damage inflicted by a particularly violent arrival of Santa Ana winds. It turned out that all Pasadena schools closed that day and, as I drove to school that morning, I could see why: mature magnolias completely uprooted, roads blocked by mountains of debris and, at La Salle, a batting cage split in half by a limb of the overgrown liquid ambers that we keep beseeching the City to prune on a regular basis (these trees are between the sidewalk and the street, making them Pasadena’s problem, not La Salle’s).


It was then that it suddenly hit me: by the time I arrived on campus, our Principal, Pat Bonacci, AFSC had everything well in hand and, together with Director of Operations, Elena Gallud, was intent upon making certain that La Salle would be ready to receive students - as usual - the next day. This insight is not particularly clever - we all know this is what Pat does. But it was unusual for me to dwell on it from this perspective: as we search for a new principal; will Pat’s successor take as good care of us as this admirable man has done for the last 26 years? Of course, it’s a rhetorical question that does not admit of a glib answer - but it is an important one - after all, the great strength of La Salle is its sense of community in which we all aspire to nurture, challenge, inspire and motivate (to paraphrase our Mission Statement) the people entrusted to our care. Pat has been the role model and cheerleader-in-chief for this essential element which highlights the “La Salle Difference.”

In one sense, it’s an unfair question - no one should be measured by the standard of the person they succeed. Still, we are human and we like to know where our comfort zone lies. By the time you read this, we will have completed the search for the next principal of La Salle High School and expect to announce the appointment in early January. So, these ruminations are particularly poignant for me as I wrestle with the inescapable reality that the most important contribution I will make to La Salle is the appointment of the successor to Pat Bonacci, AFSC. I am extremely pleased with the individuals who agreed to serve on the Search Committee; especially, Dr. Vera Vignes, its Chair. We have representatives of the School’s faculty and administration, alumni, parents of alumni, Trustees, area elementary principals, representatives from the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office, and the Christian Brothers. They have taken their charge extraordinarily seriously. From 50 initial inquiries, they identified six candidates for a preliminary round of interviews. From the pool of six, three candidates were brought in for a second round of interviews with the Search Committee and a round of on-campus interviews with focus groups representing: administration, faculty, students and parents. These focus groups were asked to email their feedback to the Committee, which was then reviewed and assembled as support for their recommendations regarding the three finalists. Then, it was time for me to be put on the hotspot: I had to select one of these candidates to be the next principal of La Salle High School.

I think you can see, therefore, why Pat’s “Johnny on the spot” performance on the day the Santa Anas brought Pasadena to its knees is of particular concern to me as I contemplate who should succeed him. Each of the three finalists brings outstanding - and different - attractive qualities to the position. Two are skilled in particular areas: curriculum and instruction for one and guidance and counseling for the other. The third is a generalist, a seasoned “pro” that has helmed more than one Catholic high school over the last 20 years. More than one teacher who sat in on a focus group interview echoed my own sentiments by saying to me: “Can’t we just merge all of these characteristics into one person? (Where is that picture of Dorian Grey when you need it?).

I suspect you get the point of this dilemma: in the grand scheme of things, we don’t get to insist on the “one” way to perfection. The process of becoming better is always messy and unpredictable. What we do get to do is to say; given our imperfect knowledge of the present (and especially, the future) this seems to be the way to go. I have been extraordinarily impressed with the seriousness with which my colleagues, students and parents have approached this challenging task. I know they all care deeply about the future of La Salle and I am fairly confident that they realize that no one person can shoulder the burden of our varied expectations.

Pray that I may benefit from the Lord’s wisdom as we begin the next chapter of the marvelous story of the La Salle Difference. Pray, also, that the next principal of La Salle will take as good care of us as the current one has so wonderfully done.