Lakewood Catholic Academy Welcomes Its First President

The typical elementary school is a pretty quiet place during the summer. That was certainly the case after the 630 students at Lakewood Catholic Academy spilled from the school’s doors last June to begin their summer break.

All that changed, though, on the sunny morning of July 7th, when a whirlwind named Brian Sinchak touched down on the lakefront campus to begin his tenure as LCA’s first president.  In this role, Sinchak, 36, serves as the chief administrator and operational leader of LCA, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The LCA campus, including the Holy Family Learning Center, cares for and educates children from as early as six weeks of age through the eighth grade.

The LCA Board of Trustees had committed earlier in the year to implementing a president-principal administrative model at the school – one that has proven very effective for the Catholic high schools in Greater Cleveland and across the country. A nationwide search was launched that produced more than 100 candidates and ultimately concluded with the selection of Sinchak. Prior to joining LCA, he had been serving as president of John F. Kennedy Catholic School, a two-campus school serving children from preschool through grade 12 in the Youngstown area.

Sinchak holds Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a Masters of Educational Administration, both from John Carroll University, and brings more than a dozen years of experience in the field of education at multiple levels, including time as an administrator and teacher in the Diocese of Cleveland. His leadership in education has earned recognition by Today’s Catholic Teacher magazine and the National Catholic Education Association. He is also a frequent presenter at state and national educational conferences on the topics of educational leadership and organizational change as well as Catholic social teaching and service learning.

“The caliber of talent Brian brings to Lakewood Catholic Academy is invaluable,” said LCA Board Chair Kathy Laino. “His comprehensive background in the field of education combined with his passion for faith development in children and young adults, made him the ideal leader to take LCA into its second decade.”

In deciding to accept the position at LCA, Sinchak reflected on a slogan he’d seen in an LCA publication he received during the interview process: “In the End, it’s The Beginning that Counts.”

“I was uncertain at first, largely because I had always felt that the high school years were the most critical period for formation,” explains Sinchak, who also taught high school classes during his presidency at JFK. “My wife Mandy, who teaches kindergarten, has always held the view that it was important to get them early, and we enjoyed debating the point. My seven-year-old son was part of that dialogue too. When I visited campus during the interview process, I was instantly converted. Something very special was going on in the classrooms of LCA – something sacred. And it felt right.”

A boundlessly energetic man who has traveled the world numerous times in service to the poor -- most recently on a trip to India last summer where he helped to build a school for girls in a rural area of the vast country -- Sinchak plunged in with both feet. He has already launched several key initiatives in the four and a half months since his arrival:

• LCA, in a unique partnership with St. Edward High School, will apply to become an International Baccalaureate (IB) School, offering the IB Middle Years Program, in April 2015. This innovative and research-based approach to curriculum and instruction will be a guiding force behind the academic strategic plan Sinchak is organizing for the school. LCA will be the first Catholic elementary school in Ohio to apply to offer the IB Middle Years curriculum.
• The school has instituted a new dining program emphasizing freshly prepared foods and managed by Cleveland restaurateurs Fabio and Nicole Salerno (Lago, etc.), who also happen to be the parents of three LCA students. The program has been a tremendous success, drawing rave reviews from parents and students. “The dining program provides food that nourishes both the body and the mind and fuels productive learning,” notes Sinchak. 
• While service activities have always played a key role in an LCA education, Sinchak is taking service to a new level -- expanding the opportunities to serve to include national and even international venues. This summer, LCA upper school students will travel to Central America along with Sinchak and several of their teachers. LCA students have long volunteered throughout Lakewood and the Greater Cleveland area in a variety of ways and will do so in an expanded way with a new service learning initiative that is being developed.

Eventually, Sinchak’s role at LCA will be focused primarily on external relations and resource development, but this year, he’s plunging into the full scope of school activities, including curriculum, classroom and teacher observation, facilities planning and management, and even the afore-mentioned lunch program.

“I want to get to know every aspect of the school in order to develop plans for the future,” he explains. “After all, at LCA I am standing on the shoulders of giants – the founding administrators, our excellent faculty, and our highly committed parent community – all of whom worked so hard to create a culture of excellence at the school since the day it opened. I have enormous respect for what they have created, and I only seek to build on that.”

Since its creation in 2005 when three of Lakewood’s Catholic elementary schools – St. James, St. Clement, and St. Luke – decided to become one school (later joined by Sts. Cyril and Methodius, now Transfiguration Parish), Lakewood Catholic Academy has not only continued to offer residents of Lakewood a parochial alternative, but has drawn students from as far east as Bratenahl and west to the Lorain border.

“I am very passionate about Catholic education, and I will work tirelessly to sustain and improve Lakewood Catholic Academy,” says Sinchak. “I believe what we offer our students is vitally important!”