East Catholic Names New Principal/Chief Administrator

Jason S. Hartling knew East Catholic High School was the perfect fit for him.

“It was so obvious East Catholic was the place to be,” he said late last week.

Clearly, ECHS, located at 115 New State Rd., also felt strongly about the Baltimore educator, who was named the school’s new principal/chief administrator on March 21 (effective July 1).

Hartling, the principal of Northwestern High School in Baltimore for the last three years, succeeds Dr. Karen Juliano, who has served as interim principal during the 2010-11 academic year.

The new principal was appointed by Archdiocese of Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell at the recommendation of the East Catholic Principal Search Committee and Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dale R. Hoyt.

Hoyt had high praise for Hartling, who will lead the 50 year old co-ed religious school into its next chapter. “Mr. Hartling brings so much to East Catholic High School, including outstanding instructional and mentoring capabilities, exceptional communications and relationship building skills, a talent for  connecting with students, the capacity to address the school’ s key needs, and a strong business  acumen to support the school’s long term success and viability.”

Hartling, who is originally from Western Massachusetts, said he was attracted to ECHS for a variety of reasons. “A few things drew me to East Catholic – one was my belief in Catholic education and the desire to come home,” said Hartling late last week. “And I’m really big on educating the whole child and my work in public education, and also my work in Catholic education, has shown me that without faith it’s very difficult to do that. You can’t consider the whole child without considering a child’s spiritual and character well being as well.”

Hartling said he looks forward to hitting the ground running this summer. “Everyone I’ve met with and talked to just seems like they’re so committed to the betterment of East Catholic and I’m looking forward to building relationships with the students, the families, the faculty and alumni,” he said. "The entire community has just been so warm and welcoming. I’m looking forward to getting to know them and working with them in the future.”

Hartling, 35, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Norwich University in Vermont, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University, and an Advanced Professional Certificate in Administration and the Teaching of Social Studies from the State of Maryland, according to the Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Catholic Schools. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Education at the online Northcentral University.

After spending several years in private sector management, Hartling said he felt a calling to be an educator. “I was in the private sector and felt a calling to teach,” he recalled.

Hartling began his career in education when he worked as a social studies teacher in the Baltimore public school system and then at Towson Catholic High School in Baltimore. In 2006 he was named a Fisher Fellow in the KIPP School Leadership Program and spent a year traveling to over 50 high schools to identify “promising practices,” said the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools.

Hartling then became resident principal of the Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy in Baltimore, and following that, began working at Northwestern.

Of course, working in an urban environment has presented its own set of unique challenges. “It’s particularly challenging because a lot of my students don’t necessarily have the family supports that we sometimes take for granted,” said Hartling. “Our parents are our first and primary teachers; as school administrators, we have a great opportunity to partner with the parents.”

According to the Archdiocese of Hartford’s Office of Catholic Schools, Hartling’s work in Baltimore “has resulted in significantly lower drop-out rates, increased teacher retention, an improved overall school climate, and more effective budgeting.”

Hartling also teaches a course on School Reform at Johns Hopkins University School of Education and has long served as a coach/mentor to his fellow teachers.

Hartling will finish up the 2010-11 school year in Baltimore and said he will be available afterwards to the new principal to ensure a smooth transition in leadership. “You make a very important pledge to your school community that you’re going to give them 110 percent,” said Hartling.

Keeping a Catholic education affordable is one challenge Hartling is looking forward to tackling. “Obviously keeping the Catholic school education affordable is one of those critical pieces that I’m going to be working on with the school community; the archbishop is really committed to it as well,” he said.

The new principal was impressed by an archdiocese and school he felt were moving in the right direction. “One of the things I looked for—obviously, I wanted to be close to home, that was very important to me— but also I looked for an archdiocese and Catholic school system that was really moving forward in what I saw as a really positive direction,” remarked Hartling.

Another thing that impressed Hartling about the East Catholic community is the rich history of the school, which is celebrating 50 years in 2011.

“The other thing that struck me is the number of legacies at the school and how many parents experience the positive nature of East Catholic as students and then chose to send their child there,” he said, adding, “That’s a huge kind of flag of how wonderful that community is and how much strength there is to build from.”

Hartling said he believes in Catholic education, stressing it’s not a thing of the past. “There’s a lot of talk about public schools, charter schools, pushing the Catholic schools out of the market. I think you couldn’t find anything farther from the truth,” he added.

Archbishop Mansell clearly believes in Hartling’s ability to lead ECHS into its next 50 years. “When I read Jason’s personal statement in which he affirmed his belief that ‘faith is the foundation of learning’ and that Catholic school educators ‘guide our students on their journey to Christ,’ I immediately sensed that this was a candidate who understands and shares the vital mission of every Catholic school,” said Mansell. “Jason’s administrative strength and his proven ability to guide students to reach their full potential make him a strong asset in the Archdiocese.”

The Principal Search Committee was also impressed with Hartling. “Mr. Hartling’s background, skills and personality will provide East Catholic High School with an excellent administrator capable of leading the school to new levels of growth,” said Dominic Fulco, III, Esq., chair of the search committee. “He was recently selected as an emerging leader by Phi Delta Kappa International, and is a rising star in the field of secondary education. We look forward to introducing him to the East Catholic community at events planned for the first week in April.”

One event planned for this upcoming weekend is the East Catholic High School 50th Anniversary Gala, which is slated for Saturday, April 2, 6-11 p.m. at the Mariott Hotel in Downtown Hartford.

Hartling is looking forward to getting acquainted with members of the ECHS community at the gala and other events this week. “It’s a great opportunity to be able to meet members of the community and to start putting names with faces and begin the dialogue,” said Hartling. “I’ll be meeting with the faculty [this] week and the gala is Saturday, and on Sunday, I’ll be able to meet with parents and students. I’m really looking forward to it.”

For more information on the gala, please contact Sarah Adanti, East Catholic’s Director of Advancement, at adantis@echs.com.