New principal says Sacred Heart is a "positive place" for all

“I don’t count the days,” says Connie Roberson, of her first quarter as the new Sacred Heart Catholic School principal in Poplar Bluff.

Keeping focused on the present is her work philosophy. “Every day is a new day,” Roberson said with a smile.

There are plenty of challenges that come with the job, she added. “... it gets a little hairy once in a while... but the kids are great.”

Sacred Heart Principal Connie Roberson wants to instill in her students there are “life lessons” to be learned in everything they do. Roberson is shown during one of her daily visits to the classrooms at Sacred Heart in Poplar Bluff. Photo provided

The former Sacred Heart preschool director spent prior years working in a variety of fields, but her passion always was education. After earning her degree in child development, Roberson worked for some time as a teacher in area head start programs. She then advanced to the position of education manager for those programs.

It was through her head start program work that Roberson found her way back to Sacred Heart. Years earlier, Roberson’s children had attended the school and she was a parent volunteer. Being part of the Sacred Heart “family” is tradition for Roberson.

Roberson previously volunteered at Sacred Heart through Project REACH (Rural EArly CHildhood), helping the teachers and administrators complete curriculum assessments, when she was offered a position as preschool director. She accepted. Then in early 2019, Sacred Heart began searching to fill the school principal position for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year. Roberson applied and as they say, the rest is history.

Settling into her new position has been fairly easy for the former Sacred Heart preschool director, because of her established relationships with the students. Those relationships are evident as you look around the walls of her small office.

“Just look at this,” Roberson beams when referring to the student made cards and artwork decorating her office.

“It’s all about love ...,” Roberson said. “If you have that love for God and Jesus Christ, you have that love for these kids ...”

Roberson parlays the importance of love in her style of teaching, promoting conscious discipline and “making those connections” with the teachers, staff and the students.

Most importantly, Roberson promotes the idea of Sacred Heart as being a “school family.” Her goal is for everyone involved with the school; students, parents, teachers, etc. to focus on the positives and never feel unwelcome.

Roberson says her approach to implementing change is gradual. She doesn’t feel it necessary to bombard the students and staff with too much change all at once.

Prioritizing the overall safety of the students is an area of change in which Roberson is currently focusing. Some safety procedures are being altered and/or phased out to enhance the efficiency of Sacred Heart’s safety program.

When asked what her future plans for Sacred Heart are, Roberson said she wants to weave the concepts of conscious discipline and positive behavior into the culture of the school. By nurturing Sacred Heart’s atmosphere of positivity and love, Roberson hopes to see an increase in both future parent involvement and student enrollment. She wants people to view Sacred Heart as a “positive place for their children” to grow and learn.