Welcome to the launch of the first BK President’s Blog.  The purpose of my blog is to be able to openly discuss “all things BK” with you, the members of our school community.  We will focus much of the time on our culture here at BK – what we call the “BK Way” – but our conversations will not be limited to culture.  You may see posts ranging from faith formation to implementation of new technology initiatives on campus, and everything in between.  If a topic arises that is important for our community to discuss, you will see it here.

I believe BK is an incredible place due in large part to a very passionate, loving and caring community of students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni who believe strongly in our mission of “educating and developing the whole student in the Catholic tradition – spirit, mind, and body”.  This is the reason I came to BK in July 2010 as president after nearly 30 years at Hewlett-Packard and a year or so of retirement (which I obviously failed).  I wanted to do my part in taking a really good school where our three children had a wonderful experience and help to make it a great school – the “best in the West”!  I found at HP that a culture of openness, listening to your customers, confronting problems head on, teamwork and collaboration, aligning the whole team around developing and executing a shared vision, clear mission and a sound strategy, with clear expectations and accountability, were keys to greatness and success.  And it starts with openness and listening – which is why this blog!

We all know that BK can and must continue to improve in certain areas if we are to achieve our vision of excellence in everything we do.  I hope that by writing about some of our challenges and successes, and providing a place for you to give input and participate in the conversation, that our whole community will help raise the bar and live the “BK Way” in all that we do.

Some people have asked me why we would wish to air our dirty laundry on the internet, especially when so much of what our students, faculty, and staff do here at BK is worth celebrating.  My answer is that when you’ve been lifted high on the shoulders of success, it’s easy to dismiss those issues that weigh you down.  It is critical we always remain humble and thankful to God for all that we have been given.  And we will only get better when we are honest with ourselves and have the courage to confront and work together to solve our problems.  And because we are a community that cares, I know that we can and will grow forward together.

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to discussing in my next post the critical role that we adults play in our community.