Lansdale Catholic names new principal, president
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
LANSDALE — When students at Lansdale Catholic High School report to school in September, they’ll see familiar faces behind different desks — those of their principal and president, respectively.
The new principal is Tim Quinn, a 1995 Lansdale Catholic alumnus who for the past four years was the school’s assistant principal for student services. The new president is Jim Casey, who has been the director of institutional advancement and alumni affairs for the past 18 years.
“Being a graduate of the school and returning to the school to be able to serve as a leader was an honor,” Quinn said. “I have always embraced my Lansdale Catholic roots. I like to say there is green and gold running through my veins.”
“These are exciting and forward-looking times for LC,” Casey said of the school’s move in 2012 to Hilltown. “We’re just excited to get the year started. It is our goal as adult leaders to guide these children. We’re here to help them make the right choices in life.”
Quinn, 30, attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School in the Andorra section of Philadelphia and graduated from Corpus Christi School in Lansdale in 1991.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown and a master’s degree in educational leadership from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Prior to returning to his alma mater as an administrator, Quinn taught business and social studies at St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls and was the head football coach at Northeast Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia.
Quinn is the second of four children of Tim and Debbie Quinn. He and wife Katie, members of St. Stanislaus Parish in Lansdale, are the parents of four: Timmy, who turns 7 in September; Caitlin, 4; Kara, 3 and Krista, 2. Their fifth child was due at press time.
Casey, 51, graduated from St. Athanasius School in Philadelphia in 1970 and from Cardinal Dougherty High School, also in Philadelphia, in 1974. He earned a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Spring Garden College in Philadelphia and an advanced certificate in nonprofit management from the NonProfit Center of La Salle University.
Casey is the oldest of five children of the late James and Isabelle Casey. He and wife Rosemary, members of Presentation B.V.M. Parish in Cheltenham, are the parents of three: Jimmy, 19; Brendan, 17 and Conor, 13. Rosemary is the school secretary at Presentation.
When they were students, neither the president nor the principal dreamed they would one day be at the helm of a high school. Both ask today’s students to give their all inside and outside the classroom.
In that regard, “we always encourage the kids to not be on the 2:35 track team,” Casey said of the joke that in earnest means “don’t run away” when the school bell rings, but get involved in extracurricular activities and sports. And the majority do, he said.
“No school’s perfect, but these are a bunch of nice kids, very friendly, very down-to-earth, very welcoming,” Casey said. “I’ve never observed any bullying.”
As far as academic success and good behavior go, the bar is set high at Lansdale Catholic High, where students are both appreciated and accountable.
“Being a graduate of the school, I want them to almost humble themselves in realizing they are part of a long tradition of Lansdale Catholic students, and to see themselves as part of the Lansdale Catholic of the future,” Quinn said.
For more information, call Lansdale Catholic High at (215) 362-6160 or visit the Web site www.lansdalecatholic.com.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.