Sedonna Prater
The appointment was announced Jan. 7 by Bishop Richard F. Stika and diocesan schools Superintendent Sister Mary Marta Abbott, RSM.
Sister Mary Marta said the new position reflects the growth occurring at the diocesan schools and will strengthen work the schools already are doing to provide the best learning approach for students, especially as it pertains to district accreditation.
“As the Diocese of Knoxville has grown over the past 24 years, our 10 Catholic schools from Kingsport to Chattanooga have also grown and developed their programs to be great centers for faith and learning. With this growth, Bishop Stika and I have seen an increasing need for a diocesan director of curriculum and instruction for our schools,” Sister Mary Marta said in a statement. “A director of curriculum and instruction would allow our schools to be accredited as a district and would provide curriculum and instructional support and resources to all of our schools.
Following consultation with Father David Boettner, pastor of the Sacred Heart Cathedral parish, Sister Mary Marta said she and Bishop Stika asked Mrs. Prater to take on the new role and she accepted. She will officially begin the new position on July 1 and will step down as principal of Sacred Heart Cathedral School on June 30. She will remain at Sacred Heart on a part-time basis as the school’s director of curriculum and instruction.
Mrs. Prater joined Sacred Heart Cathedral School as principal in 2004. She began at SHCS as an eighth-grade teacher in 1997, moving to vice principal in 1999 and serving in that role through 2003. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in administration and supervision from the University of Tennessee.
“I am grateful to Sedonna for her generosity in taking on this new role for our diocese. Her 14 years of administrative leadership will be an asset to all our schools,” Sister Mary Marta said.
