Ms. Rachel Gemo and Father Steve celebrating the 2019 National Blue Ribbon School Award in Washington DC.
Great schools require great leaders. Great leaders know how to energize and inspire everyone to contribute to the successful creation of a school mission and culture. St. Benedict Preparatory School is blessed to have a team of state-certified, Catholic-university-educated school administrators to lead SBPS through the 21st century landscape. SBPS is the hallmark of a long-standing legacy of Catholic educational excellence at St. Benedict Parish, making it the sole remaining co-ed parochial Preschool through Grade 8 program in the Archdiocese of Chicago. We value and honor this unique Preschool through Grade 8 program, and have intentionally created structures, roles and programs to fully realize all the benefits this model will provide students and families.
The Administration structure at St. Benedict Preparatory School employs a unique leadership model that differs from most Chicago Catholic schools. The Catholic educational mission of SBPS is the foundation for the reasons how and why we do what we do.
Fr. Steve Kanonik, our pastor, entrusts the operation of the school to our Head of Parish School (HOPS), Ms. Rachel Gemo. Guided by our twenty member school advisory board, SBPS has moved forward in advancing its strategic plan to ensure continued academic excellence. Ms. Gemo directs the over 80 caring and mission-driven faculty and staff members who educate 675 students.
In order for Ms. Gemo to lead this faculty and staff well, and still create a “personalized feel” for each family in a large, vibrant community, the administration team is divided as listed below. This structure allows for the SBPS administration to focus on the unique social, emotional, and educational needs of the grade-level students whom they serve:
Head of Lower School (PK-Grade 3)
Head of Upper School (Grade 4-8)
Ms. Gemo accepting her 2020 NCEA Lead. Learn. Serve Award.
Ms. Rachel Gemo, Head of Parish School (HOPS)
Ms. Rachel Gemo is beginning her 20th year as a school administrator at St. Benedict Preparatory School. Prior to Ms. Gemo serving as the Head of Parish School and CEO of St. Benedict Preparatory School, she served as the principal of St. Benedict Elementary (Grades PS-8) from July 2003 through June 2010.
Before serving as the principal here, Ms. Gemo “wore several professional hats” at St. Ferdinand School on the northwest side of Chicago since the fall of 1996. She taught middle school language arts, math, science, social studies and religion. She also served as the middle school unit leader, the assistant principal and Confirmation teacher for 8th graders. Additionally, Ms. Gemo worked professionally as an adjunct instructor for DePaul University from September 2008 – May 2010. She served as Student Teacher Supervisor, Student Teaching Capstone Teacher as well as taught Social Studies Teaching Methods at the graduate level. Ms. Gemo continues her professional development, focusing on several areas such as inclusion education, technology integration, mission advancement and Catholic faith-formation. Ms. Gemo serves on several principal leadership committees for the Office of Catholic Schools. She is the proud recipient of the 2020 NCEA Lead. Learn. Serve Award honoring her exemplary Catholic school leadership.
Mrs. Rachel Metz, Head of Lower School, joined St. Benedict in 2010 as Preschool Director. She became Head of Early Childhood in 2013 and Head of Lower School, leading PreK through Third Grade in 2018. Mrs. Metz previously served as Assistant Principal at St. Mary of the Angels.
Mrs. Mary Deletioglu, Head of Upper School, began her career at St. Benedict twelve years ago. She taught middle school and high school mathematics for seven years and served as the Math Department Chair for the Secondary School for four years. She served as a high school advisor for seven years in which she supported students academically and throughout the college search and application progress. She holds a double major in English Literature and Pure Mathematics and a M.Ed in Teaching and Learning from DePaul University. Ms. Deletioglu completed her educational leadership internship at Lane Tech in the Spring and graduated in June 2018 with her M.Ed in Educational Leadership with a focus in Catholic Leadership. Mrs. Deletioglu also known as Mrs. D enjoys spending time with her family, enjoying the outdoors with her husband, trying a new recipe in the kitchen, gardening, swimming and dancing.
Mr. Andrew Galus will be serving as Interim Head of Upper School while Ms. Deletioglu is on maternity leave for the first half of the school year. Mr. Galus is an award-winning teacher with many years of experience in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He has served in various teaching and administrative positions in various schools of the Archdiocese. Galus earned both his B.A. and Masters from Loyola University in Chicago. He is starting his 20th year at St. Benedict. He spent the first 14 years of his career at St. Benedict Prep and “came home" to SBPS five years ago. Galus firmly believes in working with the entire school community to ensure the students best possible and formational experience. Mr. Galus and his wife Peggy, a St. Benedict Alumnae, enjoy spending time with their children Anthony and Andrea, both of whom attended St. Benedict School. His hobbies include collecting pocket schedules, reading books about baseball and listening to baseball games on the radio. Mr. Galus will be serving as Interim Head of Upper School while Ms. Deletioglu is on maternity leave for the first half of the school year.