A
first for local Catholic elementary education
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
“Are you going to be the first woman president in the White House?”
That was the question a third-grader asked Patricia A. Miniszak, principal
of St. Mary Magdalen School in Media, when it was announced that she will
become the school’s first president this fall.
The student had heard that her principal was going to be president, and
that she would make history. Miniszak is, indeed, about to make history
— only on the local level rather than the national one. She will
be the first president of an archdiocesan elementary school in the Philadelphia
Archdiocese.
“It’s just the right time in my life for this,” said
Miniszak, who turns 69 in March.
As president, she will work closely with the school’s alumni in
development, recruiting and marketing, and promote the school’s
commitment to its Catholic identity.
Last fall, after almost 50 years as a Catholic educator — including
15 years as principal and, prior to that, five years as a teacher at St.
Mary Magdalen — Miniszak informed the parish pastor, Father Ralph
J. Chieffo, that she planned to retire.
But Miniszak still wanted to serve the school in some capacity on a part-time
basis because of “my love for God and my love for the children,”
she said.
Noting the president-principal model is used in archdiocesan high schools,
Father Chieffo decided to adopt that model for his school, establishing
the presidency as a part-time position.
“She’s so loved and respected and revered here,” Father
Chieffo said. The pastor said he, like others, had to ask humbly, “Can
life be the same without Pat Miniszak at St. Mary Magdalen?”
The president-principal model is “a win-win situation,” Miniszak
said. She wins and the school does, too, as it transitions to a new structure
with her. Miniszak’s successor as principal will be Barbara M. Burke,
currently the principal at Notre Dame de Lourdes School in Swarthmore.
“This place is just very exceptional,” Miniszak said. “There’s
a wonderful faculty here. I’ve been blessed a hundredfold with so
many rich experiences and friendships here that I still want to give back.”
She asks the students to do the same. Every day, Miniszak reminds them
that there are two reasons for them to be at St. Mary Magdalen: to be
a good Catholic and to be a good student to the best of their ability.
“That is what God is asking of them,” she said.
In 2006, the Office of Catholic Education named Miniszak one of four distinguished
elementary school administrators.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Pat will excel in the role of
president,” said Richard McCarron, archdiocesan secretary for Catholic
education and superintendent of schools. “Pat lives the mission
of Catholic education.”
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.