The Barry-Robinson Trustees have announced that Stephen J. Hammond will serve as founding principal of the future Saint Patrick Catholic School

The Barry-Robinson Trustees have announced that Stephen J. Hammond will serve as founding principal of the future Saint Patrick Catholic School, a 90,000-square-foot facility offering a challenging academic program, rooted in the Catholic faith, for children of all socio-economic backgrounds from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The announcement was made today during the school's groundbreaking ceremony held on the future 16.5-acre campus of the school in the Larchmont section of Norfolk.

As founding principal, Hammond will assist the Board in the preparation of a mission statement and other school policies as well as formulate and direct the curriculum of the school and establish academic standards. Additionally, he will appoint all administrative officers, department heads and other members of the teaching staff, and all other full- or part-time employees of the school.

A 30-year veteran in the Catholic school arena, Hammond is currently headmaster of Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tenn., a prestigious independent school near Nashville dating to 1889 that educates students in grades K-12. Prior to his association with Battle Ground Academy, he served as president of St. Anne Elementary School in Laguna Niguel, Calif., and president and principal of Juanipero Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. He also served for 17 years as the Superintendent of Schools for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville.

Hammond is a member of the National Catholic Education Association for the National Catholic School Congress in Washington, D.C., and is past chairman of the Tennessee Catholic Public Policy Commission's Education Committee. He is also founding chairman of the Tennessee Education Department's Non-Public School Advisory Council; former member of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Student Evaluation; and served as president, vice-president and secretary of the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and a Master of Education in Secondary Administration from the same university.

Charles V. McPhillips, partner, Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. and chairman of the Barry-Robinson Trust, believes Hammond will provide the vital educational and spiritual leadership needed for the new 400-student school. “We are very fortunate to have recruited a Catholic educator of national stature such as Steve Hammond to Norfolk,” said McPhillips. “He brings an exceptional level of expertise, energy and vision to develop St. Patrick's into one of the finest Catholic elementary schools in the United States.”

Hammond's philosophy emphasizes the identification, nurturing and celebration of the gifts of children and the integration of faith and values throughout the entire school program. "Schools must be all about children, and that idea will be central to all our planning,” said Hammond. “Our focus at St. Patrick's will be on quality Catholic education. Quality will be our benchmark; children will be our focus.”

Slated to open in Fall 2005, Saint Patrick Catholic School is expected to become one of the most technologically advanced Catholic schools in the country with dedicated computer and science labs, a state-of-the-art library and media center, a 350-seat performing arts auditorium, a suite of music rooms, a large art room, a gymnasium built to high school standards, and a variety of athletic playing fields.