(Posted May 10, 2018)
By Dedra Cordle, Staff Writer
During his tenure as principal at St. Patrick Catholic School, Dr. Jacob Froning has witnessed the impact great educators can have on the lives of students. One such educator, he says, is Deborah Adamczak.
“She was an excellent teacher,” he stated.
Froning recalled the passion Adamczak had for her students, the interest she showed in the parents, the help she supplied for her fellow teachers, and the commitment she showed for the community. It was only natural that her name popped into his head when he thought of candidates to take his place.
It was the winter of last year when Froning, having spent more than 50 years in the field of education, decided he would retire at the end of this school year. At the time, Adamczak was in her second year as principal at St. Cecilia, a private K-8 school on the west side of Columbus.
When Froning called her, Adamczak said the first thing that came to mind was sadness that Froning was retiring. The second was a sense of excitement at the prospect of returning to St. Patrick to work.
“I had such an amazing time when I taught there,” said the Columbus native.
Adamczak’s career began in 1995 when, as an Ohio State graduate, she took a job as a language arts teacher at Norton Middle, a public school in the South-Western City Schools District. For nearly a decade, she shaped the lives of the children who went there and helped her fellow teachers as the school’s language arts leader.
In 2005, she took time away to raise her children, then went back into teaching when a position opened up at St. Patrick in 2008. For a majority of her time at St. Patrick, Adamczak taught language arts to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. She taught second grade for two years.
During her employment at St. Patrick, Adamczak began the journey into administrative work. She had her mind set on becoming a principal and returned to school part-time to work on her master’s degree in education administration. She said she felt that becoming a principal was the right move at that point in her professional life.
“I enjoyed having my own classroom, but I felt that by becoming an administrator, I would be able to have a positive impact on everyone in the building,” she explained.
Shortly after receiving the call from Froning, Adamczak interviewed for the position. The announcement was made in January that she was to become the new principal at St. Patrick.
On July 1, Adamczak will move into the principal’s office where she says her doors will remain open to anyone in the community who would like a tour of the school, or to anyone who has questions about her or St. Patrick in general.
She said she cannot wait for the new school year to begin and looks forward to building on the legacy left before her.
Froning said he has no doubt that Adamczak will be a great leader for the school.
“I think that she is ready to take St. Patrick to another level,” he said.
