As Metro Catholic schools consolidate, new leadership announced

CEDAR RAPIDS — Xavier Catholic Schools has announced directors of faith, curriculum, early childhood, enrollment and finances as it endeavors to bring eight metro-area Catholic schools under a single umbrella this summer.

Metro Catholic schools have been operating under the Xavier Catholic Schools brand since 2013, but each school has maintained its own structure of governance and school board over the past decade

As of July 1, the schools will be part of the Xavier Catholic School System, with six new directors:

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Phil Drey will serve as director of Catholicity and will play a pivotal role in guiding the schools in matters of faith formation, collaboration with parishes for sacramental preparation and integrating Catholic teachings into the schools.

Drey is now the assistant professor in religious studies at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids. He also taught theology at Xavier High School for 17 years.

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Jamie Larson will be director of curriculum and instruction. She most recently was a school improvement consultant at Grant Wood Area Education Agency. Before that, Larson was principal of LaSalle Catholic Elementary School and a literacy consultant and classroom teacher.

Larson will lead efforts to enhance the curriculum in the school system, ensure alignment with academic standards and support staff in delivering high-quality instruction.

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Connie Schulte will be the director of early childhood. She has worked at St. Pius Early Learning Center and the Rockwell Collins Child Development Center.

Schulte will be responsible for the development, support and administration of early childhood programming, including the early childhood centers and preschool.

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Cara Joens will be director of enrollment, having served as the admissions, college and career coordinator at Xavier High School since 2014. She also was Coe College’s associate director of admissions.

Joens will be responsible for developing and implementing enrollment strategies and tactics to position Xavier Catholic Schools as the “education destination for students and families in the area,” according to a news release from the school system.

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Nick Ireland, now the communications director at Xavier High, will be the new system’s director of communications. He has worked with Xavier and the Xavier Foundation for 11 years. He attended St. Jude Elementary, Holy Family Middle School, LaSalle High School and Xavier High School, graduating in 2001.

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Angie Calhoun, now the controller at Xavier High, will be the school system’s controller, overseeing the system’s financial operations, ensuring transparency, accountability and efficiency. She has led Xavier’s financial and strategic planning, according to the news release.

The new system

Earlier this year, Chris McCarville was named president of the Xavier Catholic School system.

The school system is part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque and includes eight buildings with an enrollment of 2,104 students this school year.

Under the new school system, the Regis and LaSalle Catholic middle schools eventually will consolidate into a single location. A study is being conducted on possible locations for a 600-student consolidated middle school for sixth- through eighth-grades.

St. Joseph’s School in Marion will remain a preschool-eighth grade building for at least the next five years, at which time the system will be reassessed.

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