Walsingham Announces New Principal

By Amber Lester Friday, June 18, 2010

Walsingham Academy will welcome its new Upper School principal on July 6.

Katherine Ann Johnson joins the school after an eight-year stint as Academic Dean for the Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Md., an independent, Catholic preparatory day school for girls. She was selected following a two-month national search for a new leader for grades 8-12 at Walsingham.

The school brought several candidates to campus to meet with the search committee, department heads, faculty and a student group. School Principal Sister Mary Jeanne Oesterle said everything about Johnson made her a good fit, from her experience to her depth of spirituality to even her mannerisms. “You can tell she has a deep respect and care for people. When you meet the person herself, you can tell there’s such goodness in that woman,” she said. “We felt she was exactly the person we were looking for.”

Oesterle said Johnson wants to get settled into the school before implementing any changes to the curriculum or functionality. “She was wise enough to say she needs to learn the culture of Walsingham, listen and plan a vision from there, in collaboration with faculty, students and parents,” Oesterle said. “She is a very collaborative person.”

Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Religion from The College of William and Mary, a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Washington Theological Union.

Johnson has spent summers working with the Governor’s School as the Associate Director and Student Life Coordinator. She has also served as Grade Dean for Blake School in Minneapolis, Minn., a department chair at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Baltimore, Md. and an assistant to the Dean of Students at St. Catherine’s in Richmond.

She has also served as a Youth Ministry Volunteer, a liturgist and music minister and chapel minister for the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier. She is a member of The Washington Chorus, which routinely performs at the Kennedy Center and with the National Symphony Orchestra.

In February, Walsingham informed its last Upper School Principal, Peter Bender, the school would not renew his contract for the 2010-11 school year. Bender requested the dismissal take effect immediately; Oesterle filled in for the remainder of the year.