Central Catholic principal Chris McGraw on limitless hope
BLOOMINGTON – This is the fourth and final installment featuring conversations with Diocese of Peoria school principals on the subject of nurturing the virtue of hope among students, parents, school staff and host communities.
Chris McGraw is the principal of Central Catholic High School in Bloomington.
“You are not just a number in our building. There a people who really know you . . . care for you, and will pray for you.” – Central Catholic principal Chris McGraw
As someone who came from a public school environment to a Catholic school, he said that all educators “understand that hope is really important for the students.”
HOPE FROM HIGHEST SOURCE
Especially since coming to a Catholic school, however, it’s become clearer to him “how limiting that is when we just rely on humans to provide that hope.”
In attempting to bolster up a teacher or student – or even himself – in a public school, he would be restricted to sentiments such as, “Hey, everything’s going to be ok.”
“There is a ceiling to that,” he admitted.
“Whereas now, being in a Catholic environment, God is where that hope actually comes from,” he said.
CONNECTIONS CULTIVATE HOPE
He added that in Catholic schools, which have been “historically smaller,” hope is a by-product of students understanding that, “You are not just a number in our building. There a people who really know you . . . care for you, and will pray for you.”
“Just the fact that our environments provide that kind of connections between students, faculty and staff, I think that cultivates hope.”
McGraw indicated that it’s all about building saints (a hope particularly dear at Central Catholic, where the theme is “We are the Saints”).
He acknowledged that kids will be kids, and mistakes will be made, but said he agreed with Sister Mary André Thelen, OP, principal of St. Jude School in Peoria (whom we interviewed Nov. 20): “It’s not just like we’re trying to correct a behavior; we’re trying to grow . . . a virtue.”
The other principals interviewed in this series were Kelly McLaughlin, of Jordan Catholic School in Rock Island (Oct. 28), and Brooke Rick, of Marquette Academy in Ottawa (Feb. 4).
Principals (from left) Brooke Rick, Marquette Academy; Sister Mary André Thelen, OP, St. Jude; Kelly McLaughlin, Jordan Catholic; and Chris McGraw, Central Catholic.
