Years of experience lead Allred to principalship

Intermountain Catholic

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Norman Allred brings 15 years of teaching and administration back to St. Joseph High School in Ogden as the school's new principal. IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

OGDEN — For Norman Allred, returning to his old stomping grounds of St. Joseph High School was anything but a step backward. He’d taught, served as dean of students and vice principal at the northern-most high school in the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s school system for 15 years before spending four years at St. Francis Xavier Regional Elementary School in Kearns. The call that brought him back to St. Joseph’s made him principal, and Allred said he couldn’t be happier.

That telephone call came to Allred, who was commuting from Ogden to Kearns, in March, 2007, "and almost immediately I started getting e-mails of congratulations from my colleagues throughout the diocese," he said. "And Louise Price, my predecessor in this job gave me as many tips and pointers as she could. I have gotten a great deal of support, for which I am very grateful."

Allred and his wife, Joanne Mooney have lived in Ogden since 2001. "I don’t think I ever thought of driving from Ogden to Kearns as a long commute," he said. "But as I made the drive up and down the Davis County corridor and into metro Salt Lake City, I began thinking of St. Joseph High School as the Northern Utah section of the major metro Catholic educational system.

Allred said he even found a spot in Kearns from which he could actually see Ben Lomond Mountain, an Ogden landmark.

"From 1988 to 2003, I taught all levels of English, and I’m certified to teach Spanish," he said. "I actually began preparing to be a principal under Father John Norman, who asked me to be vice principal. I also gained a lot of knowledge and experience from Holy Cross Brother Harold Hathaway, David Lang, and Claudia Raab. I gained a lot of experience from them and I was learning how to be a principal from each one of them."

Allred said he sensed he would eventually be offered a principalship, "because I was trusting the system," he said. "And my time at St. Francis Xavier was wonderful. Nancy Essary is really a remarkable woman, teacher, and principal and a real bundle of energy."

But being named principal isn’t taking Allred out of the classroom. He also teaches sophomore theology; basically a class in church history. He said he’s having a great time teaching the Socratic method to 10th graders.

Turning 50 Jan. 21, (this year, all of the diocese’s high school principals, Allred, Dr. Gabriel Colosimo, principal of Juan Diego Catholic School, and Rick Bartman, newly appointed principal at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, will turn 50), Allred defines himself as a teacher, a principal, "and a card-carrying son of Utah pioneers. I was born in Provo and grew up in Salt Lake City. Like Dr. Colosimo, I attended (Kearns-) St. Ann Elementary School and Judge Memorial."

Allred earned Bachelor’s and Masters Degrees in English, at the University of Utah, and pursued a doctoral degree at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Lacking funding for continued study abroad, Allred returned to Salt Lake City and earned his teaching certificate at Westminster College. "If I continue to study for my doctorate," he said firmly, "it will be at Trinity College – but now, I’m as happy as I’ve ever been."

Being made principal, he said, doesn’t mean he’s going to be quiet about St. Joseph High School. His previous experience at the school means he came into the position with familiarity with the school and confidence in himself.

"I don’t think we’re facing any problems now I haven’t faced before at St. Joe’s, so there have been no surprises. My job now is to look at the challenges, ask new questions, and approach them in different ways. But, I would love to see our enrollment, which is now at 150 reach 185 or even 230. The school’s capacity is 300."

Allred describes St. Joseph High School as a "vest pocket school – a small school, but one that offers advanced placement classes across the board, a complete performance arts program, and all sports except football. "It’s got everything a student could want except football. We have a wonderful language arts program, and new, expanded parking. I bless Claudia Raab for having the vision to put in all the new facilities. Our students have a wonderful record for acceptance into major colleges and universities, as well as acceptance into the military academies. Now, it’s my responsibility to expand our enrollment, and I’m up to that.

"Of course, finances are a bit tight for the school," Allred said. "But we’re used to that, and I’ll be getting people together to help us formulate some new strategies."

The Diocesan Office of Catholic Schools and the diocese as a whole, "have been stunningly supportive," Allred said. "

Still, he said, he’s happy he has vice principal Nate Tomlinson, who, as dean of students, handles all disciplinary problems. "That’s what I did when I was vice principal," Allred said.