By Maureen Smith

Jennifer David

JACKSON – Jennifer David will take over as principal of St. Richard School in July. For the past three years, she has been the principal at Meridian St. Patrick School. Prior to that, she was assistant principal at Columbus Annunciation School, where she also taught for 18 years.
During her time at St. Patrick, David oversaw the addition of an eighth grade, a $1.2 million facilities expansion which added three classrooms, the creation of a mobile technology lab as well as adding one-to-one Chromebooks for the middle school students. David is quick to spread the credit around. “It took every person under this roof to make all that happen,” she said of the school’s growth. St. Patrick added fiber optic and wireless technology to enhance the technology the teachers can access in their classrooms.
“I love technology for what it can do for us, which is hopefully make our lives easier,” said David. “We want to make sure our students are prepared for the future. Technology keeps the kids interested and motivated and is easy to integrate into what we (educators) do,” she added.
High tech is not her only focus, David said she has always loved the Whole Schools model, which uses arts as a base for teaching. “St. Richard is a model school for Whole Schools and I love that,” said David. “Arts and technology – that’s where it’s at. Students are really going to learn when you can use those two things. They need to get involved in learning,” she said.
Father John Bohn, pastor at St. Richard, said he is excited to welcome the new leader. “She brings with her a great wealth of experience in Catholic education, both as a student and administrator,” said Father Bohn. “She already thinks very highly of St. Richard and will be good for the school, plus, being able to send her own daughter to St. Joe is an added bonus,” he added.
David and her husband have three daughters, Lauren, Ashley and Mary Kathryn. Her youngest will attend Madison St. Joseph High School in the fall.
David holds a masters in educational leadership from Marymount University. While she was working on the degree one theme kept recurring. “I remember writing a lot about servant leadership. I’m here to serve,” she explained of her leadership style. She said she wants to be a resource for parents, students and teachers. “I want to make sure the teachers have what they need to be successful and meet the needs of their diverse learners.”
David added that her faith is a big part of her vocation as an educator. “I am relying on my faith every day. You can’t give what you don’t have,” she said. She is looking forward to working with other Catholic educators in Jackson. “I’m so excited about having other Catholic schools and other principals with whom I can collaborate. It will be great to have a support system,” she said.