COMMUNITY CHAMPION:
CHAD BARNETT By Jim Rogal
CHAD BARNETT HAS PAID HIS DUES. The current Squirrel Hill resident serves as Head of School at St. Edmund’s Academy, but he had already climbed a steep educational ladder before he got here for the start of the 2014 school year. Barnett had spent the previous 17 years at Linsly School in Wheeling, W. Va., first as an English teacher and basketball coach, then dorm parent, then director of summer programs, then director of admissions, then Head of School. Additionally, he has completed the coursework for a PhD in Education at Pitt and served as an adjunct professor in the university’s School of Education. Ladder climbed, dues paid, no doubt. So why leave Linsly, a prestigious prep school that goes from 5th grade through 12th, for a neighborhood school that goes only from preschool through 8th grade? “I wanted to be at the foundation
of how kids learn,” Barnett explained. “I wanted to contribute to the joy of young people learning.” And Barnett believes strongly that a key part of a young person’s education is connecting to the community outside of school walls and halls. “This is a neighborhood school, and we are stewards. It’s a privilege to be in this neighborhood. Life is about being a neighbor, being a friend. In this community, that feeling abounds.” In fact, that feeling connects directly to the school’s core values, which were articulated when St. Edmund’s was founded in 1947. Among them are “Respect for the needs and feelings of others,” and “The worthiness of service to others.” Said Barnett, “It’s been a great gift that I was given a chance to implement those values.” Easier said than done, especially when you’re dealing with young kids. So, what does that implementation
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