Education

WELCOMING NEW PRINCIPALS

St. Polycarp and Christ Cathedral Academy each have new leadership as the new school year begins

By Gabriella Karina     9/18/2018

The Diocese of Orange is pleased to announce new principals who will be leading several Catholic schools. These educational leaders bring strong credentials and extensive expertise in education to the Diocese of Orange Catholic schools. 

 

St. Polycarp School, Stanton 

Mary Flock, M.A. 

Seventeen years ago, Mary Flock began her journey in Catholic education as a second-grade teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Habra. After teaching for five years, Flock transitioned to a leadership position at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs as Dean of Discipline and multi-level Religion teacher. Flock felt a calling to go back to elementary school and she served as principal at St. Gertrude the Great Catholic School, a Seton Blended Learning Partner School in Bell Gardens. She currently serves on the Latino Enrollment Institute Leadership Team at the University of Notre Dame. 

Mrs. Flock is happy to return to the Diocese of Orange as a principal at St. Polycarp School, a welcoming and accessible Catholic school that has been named to the prestigious Blended Learning Universe index in 2017. St. Polycarp is one of the 560 schools worldwide that received this designation. Flock holds a B.S. in Social Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a Catholic Leadership Certificate and a Masters in Catholic School Administration from Loyola Marymount University. 

 

Christ Cathedral Academy, Garden Grove 

Kathleen Mcguire, M.Ed. 

Ms. McGuire comes to Christ Cathedral Academy an experienced administrator, curriculum developer, and community leader. She is excited to lead a learning community where students and adults partner toward individual and community aspirations. She said, “How blessed I am to not only have purposeful work that uses my professional education and experiences [and] allows me to live my faith in an actionable, impacting way.” 

McGuire spent the last six years developing science and math curriculum for Science Rocks, a competitive educational program in Newport Beach. Additionally, she is involved in numerous organizations and serves on a number of boards including for Thomas House Family Shelter, Servite High School, Newport-Mesa Unified School District Parent Collaborative, and Our Lady Queen of Angeles Parish. Prior to her journey in Southern California, McGuire served as the first female and lay principal of Saint Mary’s College High School, a Lasallian Catholic coeducational college preparatory high school in North Berkeley. McGuire also served as a Director of Student Activities and Leadership at Curry College in Milton, CA, and a Director of Student Life at Mount Vernon Women’s College in Washington DC, where she also coordinated Teen Women Leadership Conference for underserved girls. 

Ms. McGuire earned her B.A. and her M.Ed. from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. She looks forward to journeying with others at Christ Cathedral Academy. Her education guidepost is sourced from the patron Saint of teachers, St. John Baptist De La Salle, “You too can perform miracles by touching the hearts and minds of those entrusted to your care.”