James Gallagher To Be First Lay Principal for West Catholic H.S.
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For the first time in its 98-year history, West Catholic Preparatory High School will have a lay principal.
"Sister Mary Bur says I'm not filling her shoes -- it's a new pair of shoes," notes James Gallagher.
He will be replacing longtime West Catholic Prep principal Sr. Mary Bur this summer.
Gallagher, 47, is a onetime marketing professional turned educator.
"I think the only difference is that I'm just a lay person," he told KYW Newsradio recently. "And I'm still a faithful and very spiritual person."
Gallagher says his vision is to engage students in their community while continuing the efforts of the board of directors and alumni who spared West from the closure list three years ago.
"I think they set forth a really strong mission," Gallagher says. "And I don't see myself wanting to change anything."
The move continues a trend: thirteen of the seventeen archdiocesan high schools now have lay principals.