Published: June 26, 2008 11:24 pm            

SCHOOLS: North Tonawanda Catholic gets new principal

When North Tonawanda Catholic School opens in September, all students will attend one campus at Ascension and a new principal will be at the helm.

Despite years of teaching experience, she is also a student, making the transition into her first administrative role.

Martha Eadie was hired from among 10 applicants for the principal position.

Rev. Louis Dolinic, pastor, said the 47-year-old educator brings a solid instructional background, a positive attitude and tremendous enthusiasm to the position.

Former principal Rosemarie Kutsko is moving on after 15 years at the school, going to live at Villa Maria in Buffalo, where Dolinic said the provincial minister of the Felician Sisters, of which Kutsko is one, is Sister Lorianne — a one-time principal of NT Catholic.

“Martha Eadie’s energy and her positive outlook and the recommendations made by others with whom she had worked just kind of put her over the edge,” he said of the new principal.

Eadie has her master of science degree in education from Canisius College and her bachelor degree from Buffalo State College and is nearing completion of her state certification school building leader.

Her teaching experience includes fourth-grade at Our Lady of Pompeii School, and second-grade at Annunciation School. She has also taught at St. John the Baptist School and has experience in the Alden, Akron, and Iroquois public school districts.

In all she said she’s been teaching at Catholic schools for the past ten years, but this will be her first administrative role. She lives in Lancaster.

Now she’s enrolled at Canisius College, in a program to train Catholic school administrators. She said teachers there encouraged her to apply for the job.

The program for Eadie means six-courses and an internship, which she said may be waived as the result of her employment by NT Catholic.

She said her course work will continue even as she starts her new job.

“I’m working on a lot of things for the school year,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of parent support, teacher support, and I think that’ll make a big difference.”

She spoke of the school’s plans to bolster its band program, with about $25,000 contributed by Albany through state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, earlier this year to help the school buy additional instruments.

“I guess years ago the band at NT Catholic was quite a showpiece . . . I’m really going to work hard to bring that back because it’s something that’s good for the community and the school.”

The Buffalo diocese has recently named a new board of trustees at the school of about 106 students, which is charged with recruiting kids in kindergarten through eighth grade from throughout the greater area.

According to board member Richard Kloch, a Niagara County Court judge with a sixth grade student enrolled at the school, the changes are meant to allow greater representation from the area, rather than just parents of students.

Several new additions have been added as a result.

Those named to the board are Dolinic, canonical administrator of the school; Rev. Edward Jost, pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Church; Christine Anspach, Gerald Casillio, Bob Hart, David Heim, James Hoffarth, Carmen Granto, Judie Gregory, Richard Kloch, Karen Kwandrans, Joseph Mantione, Michael Marinucci, Christine Tylec and Paul Wojtaszek.

Granto, 65, who for 17-years has been superintendent of the Niagara Falls School District, said he was approached some months ago by a member of the school’s faculty about joining. Then, a couple of months ago he got the nod from the diocese.

“I felt it was an honor and I hope I can contribute,” he said. “I’m very familiar with and agree with the mission and vision of catholic education.”

Granto’s own children moved up through the public school system, but he said he attended private Catholic schools since the third grade — including Stella-Niagara and then Canisius High School.

He is a supporter of charter schools, despite opposition to the funding plan attached to the opening of Niagara Charter School about three years ago.

He said his objections at that time weren’t in principle, and that the funding arrangement has been amended since.

Eadie has met with the outgoing Kutsko several times and said the two share some common skills and interests.

“She’s organized and I’m organized and I think the transition will go well,” she said. “We’re both very organized people.”

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.

        

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