Our Lady of Grace School in Penndel has a new principal. Following the retirement of former principal of 16 years Denise Lewis, Eric Harper is joining OLG as its new principal.
Most recently, Harper taught at St. Mary’s Mission School in Red Lake, Minnesota for two years.
“Catholic schools challenged me academically and prepared me completely for the future. Thus, I chose to pursue a career in education out of a sense of profound gratitude,” said Harper. “I recognized, and I am still keenly aware, that Catholic schools played a pivotal role in my development. I realized that my Catholic education was a holistic one and I became a better person because of it.”
Harper’s eight years in Catholic education began in 2013, when he was accepted into Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education – a two-year service through teaching program. From there, Harper spent six years at Memphis Catholic Middle and High School teaching religion, history, math and physical education. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Harper served as department chair, an athletic director and assistant principal in Memphis.
After Harper’s initial visit to OLG, he said it was “clear that God was the animating force in the school community.” He’s excited to use that energy and lead OLG into its second century of educating young people. He’s also excited to join the OLG community, meet faculty, welcome students back after summer and attend his first mass with the school community.
“OLG has existed for 100 years because it is a school firmly laid in faith,” he said. “I’m hoping to evaluate myself and the school successfully in the first six months on these two criteria – are we allowing our students to encounter Christ, and are we preparing them for the world? If I can answer ‘yes’ to those two questions in six months, it will be a successful start.”
