Dear Bishop McNamara Family and Friends,
It is with great pleasure and only appropriate that on this Solemnity of St. Joseph, patron saint of the Brothers of Holy Cross, that I announce to you that the Board of Directors and the Brothers of Holy Cross have unanimously selected Dr. John Barnhardt as the fourth President and CEO in Bishop McNamara High School history, effective June 1, 2020.
Last September the Board of Directors formed the President Search Committee and a consultative group comprised of board members, faculty, staff, parents, benefactors, local Catholic school leaders and representatives from the Brothers of Holy Cross. The committee engaged the entire school community in defining the essential attributes for the next president of Bishop McNamara High School and the committee defined its charge: to find a faith-filled, mission-driven, bold, entrepreneurial, passionate and visionary leader who would build on our prominent and historic platform and take our extraordinary school to the next level.
Working with the educational search firm, Carney, Sandoe & Associates, over the course of the fall and winter, the President Search Committee interviewed many exciting candidates. As you know from my updates, this position attracted more than 60 qualified applicants from across the country. In February and March, the Search Committee brought three of the most experienced and talented candidates to our campus to continue the interview process with the Search Committee and to meet with the Board of Directors, the leadership team and our faculty, staff and students. At the conclusion of this comprehensive process, it was the unanimous recommendation of the President Search Committee that John is the right candidate to serve as the next president of our school.
Dr. John Barnhardt has dedicated his career to building and refining transformational schools for students and families in the DC region. As the Director of School Design for KIPP DC for the past twelve years, John and his team have managed 18 schools across the District of Columbia. Prior to his leadership at KIPP he served as the President of Wisconsin Union, a membership division for alumni and student life at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where John led a $60 million capital campaign.
John’s leadership has been motivated by the relationships he has with students, parents, alumni, and faculty and staff communities. John recently shared with me that while it was at first the legacy of Bishop McNamara High School that attracted him to our school it is the values that our Bishop McNamara family stands for that humbles him and calls him to become our next President/CEO. John believes strongly in an education steeped in faith like that of the Holy Cross tradition and commits to modeling this in every facet of school leadership. He also states that his responsibility as a school leader is to maintain and strengthen the necessary conditions that allow students and faculty to be highly engaged in teaching, learning, and growing in their faith and academic study.