St. Mary Catholic Central High School hires new principal
Joe Carroll will be the next principal at St. Mary Catholic Central High School.
On Monday, SMCC announced Carroll will succeed Jason Linster, who will leave the principal position at the end of this school year. Linster has been the SMCC principal for nine years. In September, Linster announced his intention to step down at the end of the current school year to assume a position at his family's privately held business.
Carroll will become the school's seventh academic leader since the merger of St. Mary Academy and Monroe Catholic Central in 1986. He currently serves as the dean of students and director of school safety at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo.
“I feel blessed to be selected to be the next principal of SMCC. I am looking forward to getting to know the community and listening to the needs of faculty, staff, students and parents as we work to grow SMCC into something bigger and better than what it is today,” Carroll said. “I believe my background will foster continued growth as we keep up with the ever-changing educational world. I am excited about this opportunity and ask for prayers as we make this transition. I want to thank Jason for his years of service and for all that he has done at SMCC.”
"We are blessed to be able to name a person of such great faith and character as our next principal,” Sean Jorgensen, SMCC president, said. “Joe brings a lifetime commitment to the mission of Catholic education and outstanding experience in the renowned Jesuit education model. He brings a wonderful optimism and confidence to the work of forming the next generation of disciples. It was evident throughout the search that he cares deeply about building personal relationships with students, school staff and parents that will foster our young people's growth and development. We have the unenviable task of replacing an incredible leader in Jason Linster. His contributions to SMCC will impact our school family for decades to come. I am confident that we have found an outstanding successor to Jason in Joe Carroll. He is a worthy inheritor of the tradition of educational excellence handed down to us by the IHM Sisters and the Brothers of Holy Cross."
Born and raised in Toledo, Carroll is the son of Ray and Connie Carroll and a 1993 graduate of St. John’s Jesuit High School. He has a Bachelor of Art and Science degree in education from Lourdes University and a Master of Educational Leadership degree, specializing in Catholic education, from the University of Dayton.
A former residential specialist for the Lucas County Youth Treatment Center, he returned to his alma mater in 2004 to teach social studies and help launch St. John's Jesuit Academy, a first-of-its-kind Catholic middle school in Toledo.
In 2012, he became the principal of Christ the King Parish Elementary School in Toledo, where he served until 2019, when he returned to St. John's as the academy administrator.
A Gurian Institute and Ron Clark Academy-trained educator, Carroll assisted in planning the Catholic Leadership Conference that served over 300 seventh grade students across the Diocese of Toledo. He was responsible for helping create the curriculum structure at St. John’s Jesuit Academy and implementing 1:1 digital device programs, including the transition to digital textbook use at both St. John's and Christ the King.
“While serving as principal at Christ the King, Carroll led a team of educators, students and parents in bringing the acclaimed ‘Leader in Me’ educational program to the school,” SMCC said. “Christ the King School was recognized in 2018 as a ‘Top Workplace in Northwest Ohio’ by The Blade.” Most recently, as dean of students, Carroll directed a significant expansion of St. John's school safety program.
Carroll had previously served as a varsity swim coach at St. John's Jesuit High School and Notre Dame Academy in Toledo. He was named Northwest District Coach of the Year for four consecutive years and was honored with the State of Ohio's Coach of the Year for Ethics and Integrity award in 2012.
Carroll and his wife, Amy, live in Toledo with their three children.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: St. Mary Catholic Central High School hires new principal
