By Michelle Martin
Staff writer

The next leader of the largest parochial school system in the nation will be Nicholas M. Wolsonovich (photo, left), now serving as superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio.

The appointment of Wolsonovich, 57, was to be announced May 3.

“After conducting a nationwide search, we believe that we have found a person with both the faith-based educational background and the professional experience that we have been looking for,” Cardinal George said. “Dr. Wolsonovich takes responsibility for a system of demonstrated excellence. He will work to strengthen it.”

Wolsonovich said his priorities for the schools include maintaining a strong Catholic identity and world-class academic programs, and building a stable financial base.

“As the largest Catholic school system in the United States, the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago will continue to face the challenge of making Catholic schools available to all children of Cook and Lake counties,” he said in a statement. “I intend to meet this challenge in a way that is educationally first class, financially feasible and, most importantly, thoroughly Catholic.”

Wolsonovich will fill the position held by Sister of St. Joseph Judith Cauley and Janet Sisler, who have served as interim co-superintendents since Elaine Schuster resigned in December. He will report to archdiocesan Chancellor Jimmy Lago.

When he comes to Chicago this summer, Wolsonovich will find a much larger and more diverse school system than the one he has led for the last 15 years.

He is leaving a diocese with 57 schools, 920 teachers and administrators and 15,536 students. In Chicago, he will head the nation’s largest parochial school system and the 11th largest school system of any kind in the country, with 311 schools employing 6,500 teachers and administrators teaching 130,000 students.

About 1 percent of the students in Youngstown Catholic schools are Hispanic; in the Archdiocese of Chicago, about a third of Catholic school students are of Hispanic heritage.

Wolsonovich said he looks forward to working in a large, urban school system.

“I have always admired the Archdiocese of Chicago’s commitment to education and its strong commitment to inner city youth,” Wolsonovich said.

Wolsonovich earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., a master’s degree in education from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., a master’s degree in religious education from Loyola University in New Orleans and a doctorate in educational administration from Kent State University in Ohio.

Before serving as superintendent, Wolsonovich spent 19 years as a teacher, principal and administrator in the Youngstown Diocese. For seven years, he served as director of government programs for the schools, and for two years he was director of curriculum and instruction.

His first order of business when he gets to Chicago will be to get to know the schools and the people who make them work. The next thing, he said, will be to form the kind of relationships he will need to be able to make suggestions for improvements.

He comes into a situation where many schools are facing financial challenges. In an effort to eliminate its own deficit, the archdiocese has cut grants to schools.

In Youngstown, Wolsonovich said, the diocese does not offer such grants. But having a grant and then losing it can cause problems, he acknowledged.

“That can be very burdensome, if the money’s not there,” he said.

To help solve the financial difficulties, schools must encourage the stewardship of school families, Wolsonovich wrote in a statement. Parents should know “how much it costs to educate a child, how much teachers are paid, what percentage their tuition is of the per-pupil cost, how their parish supports their school, and the need for helping financially needy students attend a Catholic school,” he wrote.

By doing that, schools can build parent support for “full cost tuition,” an initiative the archdiocese began encouraging its schools to try early this year.

To emphasize the schools Catholic identity, staff members must have the opportunity to learn about the faith. That’s especially important for teachers who have good teaching skills, but not an extensive background in religious education.

“They have to have an awful lot of staff development in that area,” he said, adding that the archdiocese may already be doing that. “In general, the way I would proceed is to increase staff development time for religious education.”

Making sure all staff members understand the faith will help them communicate that faith to their students. At the same time, schools should look Catholic, Wolsonovich said, and the religion has to come through in all areas.

“For example, in the area of discipline, you have to have reconciliation,” he said.

Schools can’t compromise their Catholic identity even when a significant percentage of their students aren’t Catholic.

“A Catholic school should always be a Catholic school,” Wolsonovich said. “Even if they’re not Catholic, they’re still going to go to religion classes, they’re still going to go to religious ceremonies. Part of the evangelical notion of the church is to ‘go and teach all nations.’ That’s what Jesus did, and he didn’t go and teach Catholic nations. That’s a real role for Catholic schools.”