The Calming Presence

Later today we will celebrate Mrs. Cathy Creed’s tenure at Brainerd Baptist School with a retirement reception. The post below is from our winter 2019 issue of Foundations magazine. I attempted to highlight the tremendous blessing that Mrs. Creed has been to me during my years as head.

The Calming Presence

When trying to think of the right adjectives to adequately describe Cathy Creed, several instantly come to mind like affectionate, compassionate, witty, sincere, observant, patient, intuitive, friendly, loyal, supportive, funny, and most importantly, a champion for doing what is best for students. When I was appointed Head of School in May of 2006, Cathy was the first person I hired, and she has served as our Assistant Head of School for the last thirteen years. In her role she has overseen our  K3/K4, Summer Camp, and Brainerd Baptist After School Care program. Additionally, she has worn many other hats and taken on multiple other roles. Until we added our first Academic Counselor, Mrs. Creed worked with all ages of students who needed additional academic support.

Over the years while working as a team, Mrs. Creed and I have celebrated many highs and lows that come with our profession. Cathy is the type of person who would always be available to listen and provide a different perspective right at the time when I needed one. Many people may not know that she has a very dry sense of humor, which she utilizes extremely well. I cannot count the times our weekly administrative meetings have been interrupted with laughter due to a sly comment that is perfectly delivered by her with a straight face.

However, what I appreciate most about Cathy is her ability to be a calming presence. She is never the loudest person in a meeting or a room. She has a genuine love for her job and the people that work with her. She is an incredible listener and has even been been known to sit and cry with a teacher or parent that is going through a tough time. Over the summer, Cathy told us that this year would be her last as Assistant Head of School.  While we are sad, we are happy to announce that she will still be working at Brainerd Baptist School part time in our academic counseling office. This will prove to be very beneficial for our students who have the opportunity to work with her. There is no doubt they will benefit from her wealth of experience and vast ability to work with students who have learning differences.

As with any change, we are also excited about the future. I am a believer that good schools develop leaders from within. Therefore, we are also excited to announce that Mrs. Regina Ateca will be moving into the Assistant Head of School position this summer.  Mrs. Ateca has been working with Mrs. Creed in preparation for this move, and we know that she will do a phenomenal job.

We will have a special time to honor Mrs. Creed’s service to our school in the spring and will communicate those details at a later time.