Terry Granger, president of Bishop McNamara Catholic School, was awarded the Seventh Annual Bishop Roger Kaffer Outstanding Principal Award in the Diocese of Joliet. The award is sponsored by and given by the Institutefor the Advancement of Catholic and Lasallian Education at Lewis University and was formally presented to Granger on April 28.
Granger has been a principal in the Joliet Diocese for 14 years where he served at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Elementary School for 11 years and four years at Bishop McNamara High School. Currently, Granger is the principal of both Maternity BVM and Bishop McNamara High School. Recently, Granger was appointed president of the Bishop McNamara Catholic School, a newly formed regional Pre-K through 12 Catholic school system in Kankakee County that will go into effect for the 2016-2017 school year. The system will have two Pre-K through 6th grade facilities, one in Bourbonnais and another one in Bradley. Bishop McNamara High School will host grades 7 through 12.
“Terry’s leadership and passion for Catholic education was instrumental in the recent regionalization of the Catholic schools in the Kankakee area,” said Rev. John Belmonte, S.J., Ph.D., superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Joliet. “We spent four years planning this effort which included five listening sessions attended by hundreds of people, and Terry’s commitment and enthusiasm for the mission of Catholic education never wavered. I am most grateful for his dedication.”
Granger’s leadership has been an example for manyin his community and among his peers.
“He is a true leader in every sense of the word, and he is the example of leadership Bishop Kaffer demonstrated,” said Ms. Lynne Scheffler, principal of St. Joseph Elementary School in Lockport and a colleague of Granger. “How blessed we are to have him lead schools in the finest manner and as a shining example for all to follow.”
As a school parent, Kathleen Mroz Saindon said her initial expectations for Catholic education were far surpassed.
“I respected Mr. Granger as a community leader, but until I experienced the gift of Catholic education through the eyes of my children, I was unaware of the complexity of his mission and just how committed he is to Christian excellence and the continuation of Catholic education in our community,” said Saindon.
Lewis University and the College of Education have partnered with the Catholic Schools Office for the past seven years to present the Bishop Roger Kaffer Outstanding Principal Award. Dr. Pamela Jessee, dean, College of Education at Lewis University, and her team have been instrumental in recognizing outstanding principals in the diocese.
“It is an honor to recognize the steadfast faith and leadership of the many outstanding principals in the Joliet Diocese,” said Jessee. “As a Lewis University graduate, we salute Mr. Granger for his tireless leadership and passion for Catholic education.”