Q&A: St. Petronille principal prepares for retirement after 18 years

GLEN ELLYN – Mary Kelly will retire at the end of the academic year after 18 years as principal of St. Petronille Catholic School.

Glen Ellyn Suburban Life News Editor Anna Schier recently sat down with Kelly to discuss her accomplishments at St. Petronille and her plans for the future.

Schier: How has St. Petronille changed over the years?

Kelly: Oh, my – 18 years ago there were about 70 students less, so we've grown in population. We have about 10 more teachers.

We've done a total renovation. When I came, there were no phones in the room. There were minimal computers ... We've got Smart Boards now. We didn't have Smart Boards then. I remember taking the teachers, I think it was in 1995, taking the teachers to a daylong workshop at COD to learn the computers, to learn how to move a mouse …

We started a special ed program we didn't have back then. We started a drama program. We now have an outside company come in and we do a play every year and it's a pretty big deal. … I would say that there are many, many opportunities for students to be involved in activities in addition to athletics. There's fine arts, there's band, there's music, there's choir – all those things that I think are very, very important.

Schier: What accomplishment from your time here are you most proud of?

Kelly: I would say beginning the special ed program – a special ed program where we can meet the needs of more students and that we can keep a family together. If they have a child with special needs, for the most part, we can welcome them here. …

The other thing is the number of faculty members who've gone back and gotten their masters, and the two program partnerships that we had with Benedictine University, with Lewis University and with the University of St. Francis. I'd say that's a real source of pride, that we have partnered with the three Catholic universities in the area and our teachers have benefitted from that opportunity to go back to school in areas of technology, differentiation and special ed.

Schier: What are you most looking forward to with retirement?

Kelly: Well, we're moving. We're moving to Michigan for a year and then we're moving to Boston, and that's where our grandchildren and our children are. And I'm looking forward to family time, because I've never really lived by any of my grandchildren and my children, since they graduated from college, because we've moved so many times.

I don't know that I'm retiring. I know we're relocating. I don't think I'm finished yet. I think there's something out there one more time for me.

Schier: Any idea what it is?

Kelly: Well, I'm sure it's in the area of education. My doctorate was in college teaching and academic leadership, and my dream was always to teach teachers. And I think there's a lot of ways you can teach teachers. And I think I've taught teachers for the last 18 years. And I hope that I've helped them understand the importance of Catholic education, the importance of a teacher in a child's life and how we can make such a difference, and we can make memorable moments for them. And there's no other job in the world like that.

Schier: Is there anything else that you want to tell me?

Kelly: I will miss St. Petronille School – the families, the children, the teachers – they've become my family. I will never forget this time of my life.