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He aims to educate 'whole child': 'I never experience the feeling of boredom,' new headmaster says(Arizona Daily Star, The (Tucson) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 27--The new headmaster at an East Side Episcopal school said he had wanted to move to Tucson for years before he learned about the job opening at St. Michael's Parish Day School. Barry Bedrick used to visit Tucson from Colorado and the East for vacations and to watch spring training games. He applied for the job here last spring and was selected out of 55 candidates. "When my wife spotted St. Michael's job opening, she said, 'Maybe we should take a look at this!' " he said. About a year ago, the school's former headmaster, Patrick Brown, left for undisclosed reasons. Brown had been at the school since 1994. Wayne Hall, chairman of the school's board of governors, declined to discuss Brown's departure but said he is excited to have Bedrick at the school. "He comes with a wonderful background of experience in private schools," said Hall. "He's a good listener and he's administratively very sound." St. Michael's three-acre campus, at 602 N. Wilmot Road, includes 21 classrooms built around several traditional-style Spanish courtyards and a church built in 1953 and designed by Swiss-born architect Josias T. Joesler. The school has about 350 children in grades K-8. Tuition is $5,500 per year for kindergarten through third grade, $5,620 for fourth and fifth grades and $5,770 for sixth through eighth grades. "That's shockingly reasonable, coming from the East," Bedrick said of the tuition rates. "I was surprised a school of this caliber could offer such (low tuition) rates." Bedrick came here from Philadelphia, where he was head of school at the Abington Friends School, a Quaker college-preparatory school. "I love working with teachers and kids," he said. "There are never two days that are the same. I never experience the feeling of boredom." He was officially installed as headmaster at a 10 a.m. Episcopal School Day celebration Mass at St. Michael and All Angels Church Oct. 15. Bedrick said he didn't arrive at St. Michael's with any set ideas, but wants to first learn about the community and the wishes and concerns of teachers, parents and students. He said he would like to improve the fine-arts program by adding more theater and more dance. Bedrick started his career as a science teacher at a boarding school in Connecticut. After that, he traveled and worked for several years in business, but said he was called back to "the energy of schools." He holds a bachelor's degree in biology and master's degrees in education and educational administration. Before Abington Friends, Bedrick worked for schools in Colorado, Connecticut and Chicago. Hall, who has one child at the school and another who recently graduated, said St. Michael's "educates the whole child." "They get exposed to a great foundation of math, science, art, English and also morals and ethics through the religious teachings," he said. Bedrick said that after working for the Quaker school he has "come to believe spirituality plays an important role in a child's education." He said St. Michael's students attend Mass and chapel each week and also have a "value of the month" that is incorporated into their daily school activities. October's value is forgiveness. "There's great opportunities throughout the week for kids to hear these issues being discussed," he said. Teachers have talked about their own experiences with forgiveness, Bedrick said, and students have also learned about such international figures as Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. "This helps kids to formulate their moral base," he said. Parents who are interested in having their children attend St. Michael's can attend an open house in January. Some scholarship money is available, he said. "I would encourage people to get as early a start as they can," Bedrick said. East Side --Send Neighbors story ideas to Patty Machelor at [email protected] or call 235-0308. Copyright (c) 2006, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |