Jody Williams
Jody Williams attended St. Lawrence as a student and then returned to the school in the 1990s as a teacher. Jody taught 4th grade for 11 years before becoming principal, where she continued to serve for another 19 years.
“I loved teaching and being able to get to know my group of students each year. I could share my faith everyday which in turn helped me to become closer to God,” said Jody. “At the time, Fr. Dan asked if I had ever thought of becoming principal. I said, ‘Oh, no. I love teaching’. But God had other plans!”
During her years as principal, Jody was key in starting the PBIS discipline system, a more organized arrival/dismissal system, Monday morning prayer and student recognition with the whole school in the gym, Las Posadas at Christmastime, and more supporting teachers with the hiring of more teacher's aides. She has constantly celebrated and focused on the theme JOY in her school (Jesus teaches responsibility, Others are respected, You are safe). She greets the students each morning at drop off and often stays late in the day to help out where needed.
“Jody’s impact on St. Lawrence is evident everywhere,” said St. Lawrence teacher, Lori Schafer. “She spends so much of her time talking to students and always has an open door policy. You could go and talk to her about anything. There will be a huge hole at St. Lawrence when she leaves. She will be missed beyond words.”
Kim Delaney
Kim Delaney has devoted her life to the education of children and has been a wonderful influence to many generations of children. She grew up in Lafayette, went to St. Mary Cathedral School, attended Purdue, raised a family, and in 1978 came back to St. Mary, where she taught primary grades for 32 years. In 2011, Kim Delaney was hired as principal and for the past 11 years has led the faculty, staff, students, and parents through school accreditation teams, technology enhanced lessons, adoption of excellent reading programs, student online assessments, and continuous school improvement plans.
“Being a teacher and principal of a school with young children is such a gift!” said Kim. “Every day I have been reminded of the simple joys of life as we see the world through the eyes of our children. I have been so blessed to be able to spend my career in a place that feels like home!”
Mrs. Delaney brings much joy to St. Mary students and staff. One of the biggest joys has been her impact on the Mass. Kim enjoyed her opportunity to pair her love of music along with her love of teaching, and she would bring her guitar and lead the children in song and word.
“She not only played for them, she taught them how to sing the songs,” said Kim Skiba, teacher at St. Mary. “She always told them that singing was praying twice! Many times after Mass, she would get compliments from parishioners on how much they enjoyed how the children's voices filled the church with such wonderful singing.”
In the words of Kim Delaney, “Christ is at the center of all we do. Students learn to treat each other with respect, to be responsible, and to be safe as we do our best every day to follow the example of Jesus in our lives.”
Terri Goodman
Terri Goodman started teaching in 1979 and became a kindergarten teacher at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Fowler in 1981. She then became principal at Sacred Heart in 1998 before moving back to her roots as a Kindergarten teacher in 2013 at St. Mary Cathedral School. All in all, Terri has worked for 43 years in education, with 41 taking place within the Diocese of Lafayette.
“I enjoy the smiles, laughter, hugs, and light bulb moments!” said Terri. “Seeing the light and pride in the eyes of a child when they read their first book or solve their first double-digit math problem is a wonderful reward. Helping a struggling child become a confident learner makes it all worthwhile.”
Terri is a calm voice of love and compassion with each and every one of her students. She truly loves each child and does everything in her power to help them to succeed. She has an excellent sense of what each child needs, and works hard to meet those individual needs.
“Terri’s calm, patient, and loving demeanor brings out the best in her students,” said St. Mary principal Kim Delaney. “Terri finds the good in every child and helps them to understand just how very special they are to God, to their families and to her. She will be greatly missed!”
Traci Haan
Traci Haan began her career teaching high school and middle school math at Frontier and Benton Central Schools. In 1998, armed with twelve years of teaching experience, she joined the faculty at Central Catholic.
As part of the state of Indiana’s accountability requirements for schools, Traci was instrumental in preparing students to master Algebra I Standards. For multiple consecutive years, 100% of students enrolled in Algebra I with Mrs. Haan would pass the state mandated test which assisted in Central Catholic being rated an “A” school by the IDOE for many years.
“She builds relationships with her students by connecting to their interests outside of the classroom and through extracurriculars,” said CC principal Melissa Robertson.
“Her students respect her, her professional and personal life are guided and led by the examples set by Christ, and she openly shares her faith with students.”
Traci previously served as Head of the Math Department and has mentored many teachers, including ones new to the teaching profession. She has also been a valuable asset to teachers new to the CC community in modeling what an effective teacher looks like and how to incorporate our Faith into her daily instructional practices.