Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga had to look no farther than its faculty to find its next principal.
Caroline Carlin, who joined the OLPH faculty in the summer of 2019 as academic dean, was named principal to begin the 2020-21 academic year.
She succeeds Paul Jette, who served as OLPH principal for a year after coming out of retirement.
According to OLPH, Ms. Carlin has had a plan to promote educational excellence since arriving at the school.
“When working with students and parents, Caroline displays an absolute commitment to and practice of ethical action. At the core of everything she does is respect for her fellow teachers and students and a fierce sense of the value of the individual,” the school said in a statement announcing her appointment.
Ms. Carlin, who is completing her doctorate degree, believes it is critical to not only tell students they are supported and cared about, but to show them.
“Growing up Catholic and attending Catholic schools was the single most transformative experience in my life,” she said. “During this challenging time, I rely on the principles and values instilled in me by my teachers in Catholic school, such as perseverance, compassion, and an unwavering drive to help others. As educators, in order to help our students to reach their highest potential, we must seek to imbed opportunities to know them more deeply both in our curriculum as well as to seize opportunities to support our students in their extracurricular endeavors. It is not enough to tell our students we support them and care about them; we must show them. It is our duty to ‘love not with words or speech but in action and truth.’”
OLPH School is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and has grown from 60 students in 1937 to more than 250 in 2020.
