Mr. Kimec is a man of deep and sincere Christian faith who understands the mission of Catholic education. He has 18 years of experience, having spent 15 of those years as an administrator, serving in both principal and superintendent positions at Catholic schools in Minnesota and Illinois. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He has also earned a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction from St. Mary’s and holds certifications in School Administration and Teacher Evaluation.
In addition to his service to Catholic education, he has volunteered as a basketball coach, a Confirmation preparation teacher, and a Mentor Father in the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative Special Fathers Network, a Dad to Dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. He also serves as a Knight of Columbus.
In the Philosophy of Catholic Education statement submitted with his application, he wrote, “The purpose of a Catholic education is for the school to support the family in their paramount, God-given role of leading their children towards sainthood. The school, in turn, must point the students to all that is good, true, and beautiful.”
Upon learning of his appointment, Mr. Kimec said, “I am very excited to serve as principal at Bishop Gorman Catholic School. I look forward to joining both the Bishop Gorman Catholic School and Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception parish communities along with my wife Lindsay and our six children.”
Mr. Kimec is currently working with Mrs. Mary Schick, who has been serving as interim principal for the past year. This experience will provide for a smooth transition in leadership. He will begin his tenure as Principal on July 1st in preparation for the first day of school in mid-August.
In announcing the appointment, Bishop Joseph Strickland, who serves as Chancellor of Bishop Gorman Catholic School, said, “We are very thankful for Mrs. Mary Schick’s dedication and hard work while serving as interim principal, doing so in addition to her assistant principal and teaching duties, which she will continue after stepping down as principal.”
Bishop Strickland continued, “After much prayer and careful discernment, in collaboration with the diligent work of the search committee and the executive committee of the school board on this national search, knowing that God had already chosen the next principal of Bishop Gorman whom it was our job to identify, we have full confidence in John Kimec’s ability as an educator, administrator, formator, and most importantly as a deeply committed Catholic servant-leader for Bishop Gorman Catholic School.”
The vision of Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School is to prepare and form future saints and missionaries, and its mission is to graduate young men and women of well-formed Catholic Christian character, virtue, holiness, and living faith who serve every segment of civil and ecclesial society with excellence. Bishop Gorman serves grades 6 through 12. For more information, visit www.bishopgorman.net.