Loyola Principal Named Golden Apple Leadership Award Finalist

WILMETTE, IL — The principal of Loyola Academy has been named among seven finalists for a leadership award, Golden Apple announced last week. Kathryn Baal was nominated for the 2018 Stanley C. Golden Leadership Award for her "initiative, dedication, perseverance and innovation," according to a news release from the educational foundation.

Baal was appointed principal of Loyola Academy in 2011. The school is the largest largest Jesuit high school in the country, with 2,000 students from 75 different zip codes in the Chicago area. She began, according to the release, by asking the question, "“What more can we do to inspire our students to learn, lead and serve?”

In answering that question over the past seven years, Baal has worked to fortify the school's culture of service, implement new learning practices and improve emotional well-being. In the release, the school pointed to a redesign of student support services, a literacy initiative and an increased focus on physics in the science curriculum.

“Dr. Baal is a master educator in the Jesuit tradition,” says Loyola President Rev. Patrick McGrath. “At her core she is a teacher, and all that she does as principal is informed by that fundamental relationship between teacher and student. Innovation, creativity and diligence were the hallmarks of her science classroom."

Baal also set up new faculty development programs, as well as a book and speaker series for students and teachers, the release said. She has also expanded the school's freshman orientation program, incorporating it into "The LA Way," a "comprehensive leadership program" rooted in Jesuit principals.

"As an educational leader, Dr. Baal has a clear vision and is willing to do the hard work to bring it to life," McGrath said in the release. "She loves learning and appreciates Jesuit education for the holy, essential human labor that it is. Loyola Academy is blessed by the life and work of Dr. Katie Baal.”

Baal also has adjusted Loyola's schedule to include longer class periods and reduce the total number of classes in a day from nine to six, ensuring that every student gets a flexible period for study, exercise or teacher meetings.

As principal, Baal has overseen the implementation of new courses aimed to bring the service experience into the class room and learn about social justice across the academic curriculum, according to the release. So far, newly developed classes have included Art as Advocacy, Honors Environmental Science, Hidden Voices in American Literature, Honors Sociology in Action, Spanish Immersion and Justice Seminar.

Baal and all other finalists for the 2018 Golder Leadership Award are set to be honored at the annual Golden Apple Celebration of Excellence brunch Feb. 24 at the Rosemont Hilton.