Published: June 23, 2009 12:07 am      

KENMORE: St. Joe’s principal making a difference for teens

A 38-year career might be easier to achieve if your heart is in what you do.

Robert T. Scott, president and principal of St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, the Kenmore Avenue high school approaching its 150th anniversary, never forgets his mission is larger than growing an institution or training adolescent boys for their next steps in life.

’We’re here to touch the hearts of the young,’ he says, ’and we’re giving them the facilities to make them successful.’

That might be the assignment of any school, but with St. Joseph’s, the task is somehow both easier and more daunting. There is, foremost, the school’s exceptional history.

’The pride in this school from the alumni, the difference they tell me it’s made in their lives, is what keeps you going. This school, and its mission, means a lot to me, to provide a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor, in the tradition of St. John Baptiste de la Salle,’ a reference to the patron saint of Catholic educators and founder of the Brothers of Christian Schools order.

While 13 percent of the 750 students are non-Catholic, Scott says ’classes still begin with a prayer. Our faith tells us we can draw from it. It takes all of the pieces to make a good person, and it’s good to know that God is there. That component of faith is important. Holding everything together is the spirituality.’

Under Scott’s tenure, as teacher, vice-president of student affairs, then as ’the first non-Brother’ principal with the added role of president, the Kenmore school has embarked on a sweeping upgrade of its facilities. Additional classroom space was added in 1987 (the school now offers its students 340 computer workstations), and a fine arts wing for music and the visual arts was built in 2000.

’There was a side of us that didn’t appreciate the arts,’ said Scott. ’We made a deliberate attempt to include the arts in the school day as well as after school. Now we have graduates who go on to study graphic arts at places like Syracuse University and the Rochester Institute of Technology.’

The science labs and curricula have also been strengthened, and the school’s most visible new advancement is its comprehensive athletic facility for track, football, baseball and lacrosse ’ opened in 2008 and named for the principal.

Scott credits ’a very active board of trustees, building a brotherhood’ and working to restrict tuition increases. As St. Joe’s approaches a significant milestone, the board would likely credit Principal Scott for keeping this selective and highly-regarded school thriving.

Ed Adamczyk is a freelance writer and regular contributor to the Tonawanda News. Contact him at EdinKenmore@gmail.com.