Presidential Search

Dear Northwest Catholic High School Community, 
As Archbishop of Hartford I am happy to take this occasion to re-affirm the longstanding importance of Northwest Catholic High School (NWC) for the life and mission of our local church. NWC rates among the highest achieving schools in Connecticut and the nation. As a leader in sports and arts, it blends athletic and artistic skills with sportsmanship, life lessons, and a moral compass rooted in faith-it is not just about winning but also about running the race with integrity, respect and fellowship with everyone. Moreover, and of the utmost importance, NWC forms the whole student-body, mind and spirit-encouraging critical thinking, fostering compassion, and seeking the excellence of the other through a lived Catholic Faith. 
I also want to acknowledge and thank Father Michael Dolan for his leadership as NWC's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Father Dolan's commitment to Catholic identity, academic excellence and community building has strengthened NWC as it meets the challenges of today. His very successful work with many capital campaigns also creates greater hope for the future. 
Four years ago Father Dolan accepted my invitation to serve NWC for a three-year term. Now that he is in his fourth year, and given our serious shortage of priests, Father Dolan will be returning to full-time parish ministry as a Pastor at the end of the school year. He will have the satisfaction of seeing his first-year freshman class graduate this May. 
The Archdiocesan Center for Catholic Education and Formation is working collaboratively with NWC to hire a new, full-time Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in July for the next school year. Partners in Mission of Boston has been engaged to assist in this search. The goal is to identify a new CAO who will lead NWC into the future with even greater successes. 
As we begin this new and exciting collaborative effort, I trust that I may count on your continued collaboration. With your help, NWC can have a solid and bright future for the sake of our youth and the future good of our Church and community. 

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair Archbishop of Hartford 

Dear Northwest Catholic High School Community, 
I am pleased provide you with an update on the search process to identify and secure our next President. As communicated earlier this month by Archbishop Blair, Fr. Michael Dolan, our esteemed President at Northwest Catholic High School (NWC), will be returning to full-time parish ministry as a Pastor at the end of the current school year. 
As we transition to the search for our next President, please be assured The Center for Catholic Education & Formation (CCEF) and NWC School Board are fully engaged in the process. In our effort to secure the best and brightest candidates f om near and far, we selected Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions  (PIMSLSS) (www.partnersinmissionslss.com) to serve as our search counsel. Partners in Mission 
(www.partnersinmission.com) is a nationally recognized full-service consulting firm focused exclusively on delivering excellence in Catholic school leadership, advancement, and enrollment management and has been a trusted and valued partner of NWC and the CCEF for many years. 
Michael Furey will be our principal search consultant for the President search. Michael will visit campus on Sunday and Monday, March 10 and 11, facilitating listening sessions with focus groups of students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, board, administrative leaders, and other stakeholders. 
As the search progresses, the PIMSLSS team will be working with a wide range of individuals within their extensive network of mission-driven Catholic leaders from across the nation. Their search efforts will focus on prospective candidates most familiar with our charism and competitive market, gradually expanding their outreach initiatives throughout the United States to recruit only the most personally, professionally, spiritually, and culturally fit leaders. Ultimately, they will develop a vetted list of top candidates for our Search Committee's consideration in late March or early April. The Search Committee will meet shortly thereafter narrowing this pool to a list of semi-finalists that they will interview. 
This select group will be interviewed only by the Search Committee to preserve candidates' confidentiality. Confidentiality throughout this process is standard practice when conducting a leadership search. 
After semi-finalist interviews, the finalists (typically two or three) will be selected by the Search Committee. The finalists (and spouses, if applicable) will have the opportunity to return to our school community in April for individual day-long visits. The Search Committee will meet again shortly after the last finalist's visit to review all the information gathered throughout the process, which will include feedback received from members of our school community who have had an opportunity to engage with all finalists. At the conclusion of this process, the Search Committee will present their recommendations to Fr. Whyte, Vicar for Catholic Education & Formation and my office for presentation to and approval by Archbishop Blair. 

The search calendar that we established remains on track. We anticipate that we will secure NWC's next President by the end of April, with a start date by July I st Keep in mind that the retained search function is a dynamic, fluid, and competitive process. Should top candidates emerge ahead of our anticipated schedule, we maintain the ability to adjust these timelines and remain best positioned to secure the most ideal candidate currently available. 
In the coming weeks, please watch for additional communications to follow progress on the school's "President Search". In the interim, if you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us. 
We remain grateful to all of you for your insights as the search moves forward and are confident that this process will identify the most ideal candidate able to continue and enhance the outstanding traditions of excellence and community we have come to expect at Northwest Catholic. 
Peace, 

Val Mara 
Superintendent of Catholic Schools 

Dear Northwest Catholic High School Community, 
As part of our search for the next President of Northwest Catholic High School (NWC), we are, with help from our retained search consultants, using a brief online survey to ensure we capture valuable feedback from as many members of our school community and constituencies as possible. 
Michael Furey from Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions (PIMSLSS) will visit the NWC campus on Sunday and Monday, March 10 and 11. He will facilitate extensive on-campus discussions with focus groups comprising of students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, administrative leaders, other stakeholders, and members of the Search Committee and Board. 
To capture all points of view from additional constituents and stakeholders, Pl MSLSS created an online survey for you to share your thoughts regarding your hopes and dreams for the future of the NWC community as we seek its next leader. All responses will be both confidential and anonymous and go directly to our search consultants, who will consolidate the feedback and use it to ensure we have considered all points of view from our key constituents. The results will be very useful as our search progresses and will remain confidential. 
The survey should tal The Search Committee is deeply grateful for your participation in this process. We will keep you apprised over the corning weeks through announcements as we reach important milestones in the search process. 
To complete the survey please use this link 
Thank you for your continued support of our NWC school community, and for taking the time to complete this important step of our process. 

Peace,

Val Mara, Superintendent of Catholic Schools 

April 2024 
Dear Northwest Catholic High School Community: 
On behalf of the search committee, thank you to all who completed the recent survey and participated in earlier feedback sessions as we search for the next President for Northwest Catholic High School (NWC). Sharing your thoughts, hopes, and dreams are essential to our work in finding and securing the ideal candidate. We appreciate the time you took the time to share your perspectives. 
The survey had community participation across all NWC constituencies with 153 unique respondents. We were also pleased to review the numerous comments provided via the open-ended questions, which helped to provide important context and explanation of the survey data from the diverse perspectives across the school community. In addition to the survey, over 75 people representing various constituent groups - including NWC leadership, parents, past parents, staff, faculty, students, and alumni - took part in small-group discussions and larger focus groups in February. 
My office and the NWC President Search Committee worked with Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions to identify, recruit, and vet candidates over the past few months. We are currently conducting in-person interview activities and expect our finalists to be identified soon. We will keep you updated as we progress through these critical next steps. 
Please keep this process in your prayers as we seek the best and brightest candidates to serve your incredible school community. 

Peace,

Valerie Mara 
Superintendent of Catholic Schools Archdiocese of Hartford