Sammamish – Eastside Catholic School has announced the hiring of John Kennedy as the next school president, effective July 1.

Kennedy currently serves as assistant headmaster for finance and operations at Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia. He graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a master’s in education. He also holds a bachelor's in secondary education from Niagara University, New York.

“With over 25 years of school administrative experience and a deep Catholic faith, we believe Mr. Kennedy is the right person to guide and strengthen the mission and touchstones of Eastside Catholic School,” said Eastside Catholic Board of Trustees co-chairs Kurt Reasoner and Jim Alling in a March 26 release.

Kennedy traveled to Washington state in March to spend a few days on the Eastside Catholic campus to meet with school administrators, parent groups, faculty and staff, and spend time with the students in and out of the classroom.

“The opportunity to represent and honor Eastside Catholic’s distinguishing characteristics of academic excellence, relationships and servant leadership, as well as address topics with a global perspective and commitment to providing educational chances for students of varied cultural, religious, education and economic backgrounds is exciting,” Kennedy said. “Very few schools can match the quality of faculty, staff and students as well as the community support and involvement that are present at EC. It’s a rare opportunity to be part of such a strong educational program centered on the core values taught at Eastside Catholic.”