He said Saint Susanna is his home parish. He saw the opening and applied for the position.
“I see this as the role where I can give back the greatest amount,” Albrinck said.
Albrinck said it’s been a calling and a goal to obtain the position, and he considers it as his greatest accomplishment in life.
“I am very passionate about Catholic education. It’s in my roots. It’s the system I came up through. I feel like I owe a lot to the system and I want to give back. That driving passion is a big key for me,” he said.
Albrinck is a Cincinnati-area native. He currently lives in West Chester with his family. When he’s not working as principal, he enjoys spending time outdoors, everything from sports to fishing.
Saint Susanna School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade, on the same campus, and in the same building. Currently, there are over 700 students enrolled at the school.
Q: Tell me about yourself and your background?
A: I grew up in a family of educators. I'm the youngest of seven children. My father was a teacher. Five of my six siblings are teachers or administrators. I guess that's where it all started. I went to St. Bernard Taylor Creek on the West Side, and then to La Salle High School. From there, I went to the University of Cincinnati, and I finished up with a Master's in Administration from Xavier University.
Q: It sounds like your family had a calling to be teachers, or in education. Why do you feel called to it?
A: I think the biggest part is we get to give back to our community. My background, what I've learned and what I've seen from my family, and others in education, is the fact that it's the best way that I could give back to my parish, my community and help out the kids.
Q: As far as being a principal, do you feel like some of your biggest inspiration comes from your family members?
A: I would say one hundred percent, yes. Absolutely. Seeing the relationships they were able to build, and the way they were able to help people. Witnessing what my father, and siblings were able to do for people definitely brought me into the educational field.
Q: How do you feel like your previous experiences have prepared you for the role as principal?
A: I have a wide variety of experiences working in the Catholic schools. I started off teaching junior high Social Studies. I've had roles as dean of students, athletic director, curriculum director and physical education and health teacher. At Saint Susanna, I was the Religion teacher. All of those come together and give me a good idea of what a learner looks like across the board.
Q: What are some of your goals as you prepare to start the school year?
A: The school is in a great position to take off. We do some wonderful things here. Mr. (Kevan) Hartman left us in a great place. I think the biggest thing for me is going to be building that community, and focusing on student learning, bringing in all of the stakeholders, getting their ideas and turning that toward the students, and hopefully, producing great results with it.
Q: What are some of the benefits for students? What do they gain from going to Saint Susanna School?
A: We address the entire child. We get to educate them — mind, body and spirit. I think that's the greatest benefit of the Catholic schools at Saint Susanna's is the fact that we can cover all aspects of development for the kids.
Q: What do you see as some of your biggest accomplishments to date?
A: To date, I think we are talking about my biggest accomplishment. This has been a calling of mine, a goal of mine, to hold a position like this, and the fact that I was able to do it at my home parish and give back as much as I could to the students, I think this is probably my greatest accomplishment.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
A: I also wanted to mention our excitement about the Outdoor Learning Center (OLC). Construction has started on it. It is a creative and exciting way to tie the classroom and standards together.
Q: What is The Outdoor Learning Center and how does it work?
A: The Outdoor Learning Center was brought to administration and faculty by our school commission. The outdoor classroom will be in close proximity to the school and allow teachers to implement outdoor lessons. The research shows that time spent outside reduces provides health benefits along with decreasing stress and increases focus. We strive to deliver creative, innovative, and experiential learning for our students, the outdoor classroom is just one example of that.
Contact this contributing writer at gmwriteon@aol.com.
About the Author