Not only is new principal Brianna Latko the first female principal in Jesuit High School history, she’s also the first non-Jesuit, or lay person, to hold the post. As a JHS alum myself, I can say definitely that no matter what, one big change is coming: the new principal will probably smoke a lot less camel straights than did principals during my day, not because she’s a woman, only because it would be almost physically impopssible to smoke that much on what is now a smoke-free campus.
For a full review of Ms. Latko’s bon fides, as well as a strangely placed list of all the people that didn’t get the job, sorry Joe Potulny, check out the official press release here.
The Sac Rag 
Wouldn’t the female form be Latka? Oh no, that’s a potato pancake. Never mind
BS
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You have got to be kidding. A woman principal at an all boys Jesuit HS. How sad. I think we need a “Man” to teach our young men how to be “Men For Others” (not girly men for others). I guess I am disappointed at how liberal the Jesuits have become. I am sure Jesuit HS thinks it is a “progressive” decision… to hire a 37 yr. old (single?) woman to lead our school. Don’t care what her credentials are… there are plenty of “Men” with the same or better credentials!!! She must have had a terrific interview! It will be interesting to see how much respect the boys give her & how many will snicker behind her back! This is a sad day.
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Like BS2, I too am outraged.
What’s next, women driving? Voting?
It’s a sad commentary on how bad things have gotten in this world.
We need to be MORE man-centric, not less.
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hecubus, I believe the word is “phallocentric.”
It’s pretty clear that you are joking, but BS-2’s comment is bizarre, and I can’t tell if intended as a joke. Is it a sad day when readers cannot discern humor?
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It is indeed a sad day, for many, many days now. Though I initially thought Hecubus said “Morman-centric”, which made it funnier in the Jesuit context.
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Oops- mormOn…
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Brianna Latko is a phenomenal human being. High schoolers – men, women, Jesuit, Jew (or Mormon!) – will be inspired by her. I wish I could go back to high school and learn from Ms. Latko. I have known her for almost 20 years, and can recount many a time where my intended course of action was changed for the better by Brianna Latko. You go girl!
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And from that firsthand account, her work as an educator speaks for itself! You go indeed, girl!
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Kikibibi & Turty Squip MUST be from Chicago if they know Ms. Latko’s work personally. I wonder WHY she would want to relocate to the high tax state of California? Not enough work in Chicago at her own coed Catholic School? It will be wonderful having a WOMAN lead our simple, confused & weak-minded impressionable young men at Jesuit! After all, there are NO educated nor experienced strong MEN out there who could have been considered for Principal! Is there nothing sacred? Jesuit High School for Boys… is exactly that… for Boys. I wonder WHY the Boy Scouts don’t have girls & a woman scout master? I wonder why St. Francis HS in Sacramento doesn’t have a 37 yr. old single man as principal? I wonder why the Jesuit football team doesn’t have a woman football coach? Get real!
No one is saying that Ms. Latko isn’t wonderful, Jesuit HS just isn’t the right place for her. But then again, “maybe” Jesuit HS is planning to become coed in the near future. Maybe Ms. Latko is the first step at merging with Loretto HS. Interesting…California is SO progressive, obviously “anything goes”.
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X-Jkid,
Are you suggesting that segregation (of the sexes) is sacred? That there should be a separate sphere for men and another for women?
By the way, St. Francis DOES have a male principal.
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Not weighing in at all on the principal issue, except to say that we should probably judge the future school leader by who she is rather than what she is, I’d like to say a few words about gender segregated schooling.
I loved going to an all boys school. I think it helped most of the young men around me. Scholastic achievement, intelligence, and overall sociability were greatly prized over who you were dating, what you wore or what you drove. I can’t speak for the all-girls schools, but I think that Jesuit allowed a lot of guys to focus on school and not much else while they were at school, and most were the better for it.
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Thank you Sac-Eats for your comment. You obviuosly benefited from the gender segregated experience. Most of the comments about this topic seem to be from women, who feel it is their right & duty to establish their presence in an all-male school. Their comments like “you go girl” lets me know their goals indeed. I wonder when the new Jesuit HS motto will be “Students for Others” instead of “Men for Others”? I believe that this was definately a political move by certain powers that be at Jesuit… that I shall not name.
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I think it’s interesting to hear how angry it makes people that a woman should hold a position of power at an all-boys high school.
Is it so wrong to think that a woman should play an integral role in the development of young men? Hopefully, their mothers have been helping to shape the men that these boys will become for most of their young lives. And considering that women make up half of the population and a growing percentage of the work force, boys had better learn to deal with — and to learn from — women, including those in positions of power.
As a last aside, I can personally attest to Ms. Latko’s abilities as an educator and an administrator. She’s a strong personality with sound moral character and she’s more than capable of helping to shape strong, conscientious and most importantly, more tolerant young men.
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