"Back to the Future"

I was pleased to introduce the next Principal of La Salle, Brother Christopher Brady, FSC, at our recent Back-to-School Night. His appointment concludes a process that began last spring when internal and external constituents were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the strengths and challenges La Salle brings to the next decade. That feedback was analyzed and used to shape a revised job-description for the next principal. The Search Committee, chaired by former Trustee, Dr. Vera Vignes, included representatives from each of the School’s constituencies (administrators, teachers, alums, Trustees, current and past parents and a representative from one of our “feeder schools”) as well as from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Position announcements were sent to all (arch) dioceses on the West Coast as well as to the Christian Brothers Conference. West Coast colleges and universities with schools of education received the announcement as well. National journals, Education Week and Independent School Management, published the position and it was listed with the national consulting firm, Carney-Sandoe & Associates. Given the extensive search process in which over sixty inquiries were generated, the selection of Brother Chris in a time when very few Catholic high schools are fortunate to have a priest, brother or sister as the principal, feels a bit like La Salle has gone "back to the future."

The Search Committee narrowed the list of 60 to ten and then again to three. The three semi-finalists (including Brother Chris) were brought on campus to meet with focus groups representing administration, faculty/staff, parents and students. The Search Committee moved Brother Chris and one other finalist forward for my consideration. Both were extraordinarily accomplished and had stellar recommendations…albeit with very different administrative characteristics and years of experience. Quite frankly, it would have been easier choosing between two similar candidates than with what the Committee presented. In a sense, however, it was a good thing that the two finalists were as different; as it forced me to look at them through the lens of La Salle’s short and long term needs; and, after spending a substantial portion of a day with each of the finalists, I was pleased to offer the position to Brother Chris. In a sense, Brother Chris is coming “home” as La Salle, Pasadena was his first teaching assignment after college.

I want to express my profound gratitude to the Search Committee, especially Dr. Vera Vignes, its chair, for their professional dedication and commitment to maintaining the integrity of the process. By way of tribute to their effort, both finalists, who were not offered the position, voluntarily told me how impressed they were with the process and the respect for La Salle that was engendered in them as participants in the search.

A critical concern for me was the perpetuation of the caring culture that Pat Bonacci, AFSC has nurtured for more than two decades. When I looked at Brother Chris through this lens, I recognized that his background in student services, his exposure to the challenges of significantly larger schools than La Salle, and his incredible commitment - as a Brother - to Lasallian values; it made sense for me to take advantage of his availability in a world woefully devoid of Brothers in ministry. But that wasn’t the only reason I asked Brother Chris to take the position. It is precisely because of his deep background in ministry to students that our students, teachers and parents will be well cared for under the leadership of the next principal. I am confident that the culture of care and concern that is a result of the leadership of Pat Bonacci, AFSC will continue to characterize life at La Salle. And I want Brother Chris to be in a position, which will enable him to work with our dedicated faculty, to consistently address the implications of the uncertain future facing educational institutions in California and which must be met with highly visible strategies that imbue confidence in those who are considering La Salle for their children. We know that a robust high school environment that emphasizes consistently excellent instruction and the delivery of a challenging college-preparatory curriculum will ensure that La Salle will weather the current economic storm as well as positioning itself as “the school of choice in the San Gabriel Valley.”

Because you will soon see the amazing ability Brother Chris has to nurture those entrusted to his care; he will have the freedom he needs to attend to the essential obligation to reinforce the “purchase decision” of our parents, colleagues, students and alums; without sacrificing the special world I like to call the “La Salle Difference.”

I am confident that his dedication to the Christian Brothers, his commitment to an educational process that can transform hearts and his passion for improving the lives of the students entrusted to his care will enable Brother Chris to make a significant impact on the next chapter in the history of La Salle High School.