Baldwin Times

Dear parents, students, supporters and friends,

Beginning St. Michael with our Church, our teachers and staff, our parents and students, and the people of Baldwin County has been the greatest professional blessing of my life. As we close out this, our sixth year as a school and my seventh as its principal, I have informed Archbishop Rodi and Superintendent Byrd of my intent to retire as principal of St. Michael in the summer of 2023, a year from now, to seek employment elsewhere. I was hired to begin the school;  we're now established and on a good trajectory, and I believe next summer will be the right time to make room for the next leader. 

I am proud of the school we’ve built together!  Our projected enrollment for next year is 355 students, our maximum. Our 2022 graduating class received 5.2 million dollars in scholarship offers. Last July we had 49 A.P. Scholars—students who passed three or more national exams—almost one-third of the junior and senior class. We recently announced 53 medalists on the national foreign language exams.  Our grade point average is a 3.3, with less than 0.1% grades as F’s, though we have not introduced a third track. Our Aegis program provides good support for students with learning differences.  Our music and arts programs are on the rise. Our athletic program is thriving, led by an excellent coaching staff, marked by two state championships, one state runners up, an emerging football program, and multiple playoff teams.

We began building the school in 2015 with 15.1 million dollars in construction debt. and incurred an additional 1.7 million debt  for equipment, startup costs and (budgeted) operational deficits in our early years.  Through the generous support of our donors, we have reduced that number over seven years to a total debt of 4.53 million dollars, even while paying interest on the debts, purchasing adjacent property to double the size of our campus to 80 acres and completing the Rusty Cowles field house, with a large weight room, lockers for men and women, coaches’ offices and a media room.  We have a master plan which includes the completion of the athletic complex, a chapel and additional classrooms. Our annual giving is strong, helping us with salaries and financial aid, while allowing us to forego charging additional fees for special programs and activities. Eight families have created scholarships for financial aid, and through our Guardian Angel program, older Catholic families have helped “pay the gift of Catholic education forward” by assisting younger families. This generosity has helped us meet the needs of every student who has applied for assistance.

I am proud, too, of some of the small innovations we’ve introduced here: “houses” named after the early bishops of our diocese, a full time college counselor to assist with college admissions and scholarships, a weekly “principal assembly,” a unique weekly bell schedule, and an 8th period that is central to our “renaissance” vision for students, allowing us to require at least two years of languages and two years of the arts, even while giving athletes the option of taking weights/conditioning every year. Our service program, “Cardinals for Others,” has been a great step forward. I am grateful to the archdiocese for giving us the flexibility to do these things.

Our mission is to form “scholars, leaders and disciples of Jesus Christ.” What I am most proud of here is that we’ve created a lively, dynamic Catholic community of faith, anchored by our weekly mass together, supported by our local priests and pastors, and led by our campus ministry program. One of our recent graduates, when asked what she will most miss about about St. Michael, said, “I am not Catholic, so somewhat surprisingly, my response is ‘I will miss Mass and Adoration—they’ve brought me closer to Jesus.’ “

For all these reasons, I believe that this principal position for next summer will be one of the premiere job openings in the country, and I am confident that our Advisory Council and the Archdiocese will find a compelling Catholic educator to continue our trajectory forward. Heads of school come and go, but the community of teachers and families, in union with our Church, are the great constants. The faculty, staff and leadership team here are very strong, and our kids are fantastic!

I will work hard next year to leave things in a good place for our next leader. Thank you for your prayers and support, and may God continue to bless this wonderful school!

Onward and upward!

Faustin Weber

Principal

Original source can be found here.