The de Paul School

Today we share our final Summer Staff Spotlight. When we kicked off the series – we knew several themes about our staff would emerge – namely:

✔️The (incredibly!) long-standing tenure of our faculty
✔️Their unmatched expertise in delivering instruction that matches students’ unique learning needs
✔️Their tireless passion for supporting students who learn differently and building a culture where students are known, understood and liked.

This is especially true for our next spotlight – the longest-tenured member of our de Paul team – Mr. Phil Howell!

Mr. Howell has served de Paul for 43 years as a teacher and administrator. This year, Mr. Howell will add supervision of the academic program to his duties as well as directing the school overall.

This spotlight gives well-deserved attention to a Husky who has worn many hats throughout the years. Leslie Johnson is de Paul family (her husband, three sons, and granddaughter are de Paul alums). In addition, she has worked at de Paul for 17 years, serving as athletic director, afterschool coordinator, Business Manager, and now our CFO. In each of these roles, Leslie has committed to furthering de Paul’s mission.

Happy Birthday, Sister!

The de Paul School’s founder, Sister Anne Rita Mauck, would be 99 years old today. Sister was unwavering in her dedication to her students and passionate in her belief in their potential. She founded our school knowing that it would change the lives of countless people, and she was right. Thank you, Sister, for your vision, your perseverance, and your faith in the people who carried the torch after you!

Each day at de Paul, we strive to ensure our students are known, understood and liked. The foundation of every child’s social and emotional development are built into each day. In Personal and Social Success class, students learn skills for executive function, emotional regulation, and social problem solving, and these are reinforced throughout all their classes each day.

So we’re exceedingly fortunate to have the expertise of our next spotlight – someone who deeply understands students with learning differences – Mr. Loren Pilcher!

Mr. Pilcher brings 25 years of therapeutic experience to his role as Dean, where he supports students’ social, emotional, and behavioral development. He is excited to start his second year at de Paul.

Take a 118-year-old building, add two additional buildings of classrooms, gymnasium, and cafeteria, and fill these with energetic, hands-on classes. What do you get? A school campus that is challenging and rewarding to maintain.

Our next Summer Staff Spotlight, Sam Fanning, has worked at de Paul for 14 years as part of our Buildings and Grounds team and now serves as our Director of Buildings and Maintenance. Sam works tirelessly to make sure our students have the clean, safe, and functioning school setting they deserve. Thanks for all you do, Sam!

Students with learning differences often require more than the average number of repetitions to attain mastery. Whether it’s counting by 2s while walking to the water fountain or quizzing on vocab words on the way to recess, we “get our reps in” with practice-rich approaches to learning.

So it’s incredibly valuable that we’ve got expert instructors located throughout the school building – including our next spotlight – Ms. Heidi Blackburn!

Your child will see Ms. Blackburn each day as she serves as the face and voice of de Paul at our School Receptionist desk. She will serve as the point person for medications, transportation changes, attendance, and more. A consummate teacher, Ms. Blackburn will also teach part of each day.

Our Summer Staff Spotlight series continues! As you can imagine, much goes on behind the scenes to make a school run smoothly. For three years, Eileen Hamidi has often been the oil, the gears, and the mechanic helping our school to function so well.

As the Executive Assistant, she oversees much of our communications, nudges administrators on due dates, coordinates special events, and much more. In the midst of a school’s busy-ness, it is a true gift to have someone who makes sure details are getting the attention they need.