Jackie Lewis has a long history with St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School, and she is proud to continue its traditions as its new principal.
Her mother went to St. Francis when it was a high school, and Lewis graduated from eighth grade there in 1979. Two adult children of hers went there through eighth grade, and two 14-year-old twins attended through sixth grade.
“The school is very near and dear to my heart,” said Lewis, who also is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
Her predecessor, Sister Mary Ann Tupy, left after the last school year for a job in Hawaii. Lewis said she had no idea before Tupy’s announcement that she would be leaving, but she decided to put her name in to be the next principal because she felt she had the experience for it.
Lewis, 51, is a former principal of Amanda Elzy High, East Elementary and Leflore County High schools. She also had worked as a school attendance officer for the Mississippi Department of Education and as a vocational counselor for the Leflore County district’s vocational center.
She left that district to take a job at Planters Bank, where she stayed until accepting a job teaching fifth grade at St. Francis last year.
She is St. Francis’ first lay principal ever, and she said it also won’t be easy replacing Tupy, but she believes she’s up to it.
“It’s going to be a challenging job — not a job that can’t be done, but it’s going to be challenging,” she said. “But I think what’s going to help me the most is having been a part, and still a part, of the Catholic community — and also having been a part of this school for so many years.”
Lewis said she doesn’t plan drastic changes in her first year but will be introducing some new things.
Students now will receive instruction in financial literacy as part of their social studies classes. Top students from those classes will participate in a stock market team, which will compete with other schools to see who can invest 100,000 imaginary dollars the best. The winning team will be recognized and will receive a cash prize.
In Mississippi, “a lot of our students are weak when it comes to financial literacy, so I want to make sure that we incorporate that here,” Lewis said.
She also is working to bring back the school choir and would like to start a Spanish club.
“Because St. Francis is so small and funds are limited, we have to be kind of creative when we do these things,” she said. “I would love to have a sports team, but I don’t know how far we’ll get with that.”
In the past, the St. Francis principal has handled budgeting, bill paying and other financial matters. This year, Lewis will have some help; Patricia Peel has been hired as business manager for the school and the church, as well as Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. “That’s going to be a load taken off,” Lewis said.
St. Francis has also added Smart Tuition, in which an outside company will handle tuition payments, although the school can still accept them.
“Of course, this is the first year; we don’t know how it’s going to work,” Lewis said. “But hopefully that’ll relieve another burden.”
Lewis likes that St. Francis has small classes that enable teachers to be creative and give students more individual attention.
“We know that all students can’t be taught the same way, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re meeting those students where they are,” she said.
She also believes in the school’s approach to Christian education. St. Francis doesn’t force anyone to be Catholic but does try to equip them with the right values, and that’s important, she said: “Strong values, I think, are what we’re lacking today. And that’s why we have so many problems.”
Having the students attend Mass every Wednesday is another important feature, she said.
“We know that some kids don’t really attend church, and so when they get to attend Mass here, I think that’s a really great thing,” she said.
About 80 students had signed up as of last week. Lewis said she expected to have about 120 this year, which would be consistent with totals from recent years.
Classes start Aug. 9.
•Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
