Christ the King Catholic School decided two assistant principals were better than one when it came to replacing Rosemary Kohut, who was promoted to principal in the spring.
“We really were just looking for a good fit, someone that would feel as passionate about Christ the King and our beliefs as we do,” Kohut said, explaining that two assistant principals could better handle the responsibilities that have come with the school’s enrollment growth.
In May, the school chose a pair of leaders for the roles who were already familiar with Christ the King, Beth Burau and Grace Chengery.
Kohut quickly thought of Chengery when she began considering candidates. Chengery began teaching at Christ the King in 2020. Her willingness to help led to roles supporting students with learning differences and coordinating standardized testing in the last school year.
Chengery came to Kohut when she had questions and had learned that whenever Kohut asks something of you, the answer is yes. Chengery enjoyed helping the school as a whole and felt that becoming an assistant principal was a natural steppingstone.
Burau has spent the last 23 years at Bishop Lynch High School, where she has experience serving as instructional technology coordinator. She was attracted to the Christ the King role by the opportunity to continue helping teachers.
Burau was familiar with Christ the King through teaching Christ the King alumni and past service as a member of the school’s advisory board.
Burau also attended the Christ the King Church when she first moved to Dallas from the University of Notre Dame in 2000.
Burau came to the area to teach at Saint Mary of Carmel Catholic School as part of the Alliance for Catholic Education program, a two-year service commitment for teachers pursuing master’s degrees in education from the University of Notre Dame. Burau completed the program and stayed for an extra year at Saint Mary of Carmel before moving to Bishop Lynch.
While Burau loves Bishop Lynch, she is excited for the opportunity to help teachers with lessons plans. Kohut said Burau has been a worker bee in the summer — she has jumped right in and embraced the position.
“She’s been fantastic,” Chengery said. “I’m so glad we’re doing it together because I think we’re going to complement each other really well.”
Kohut said that there is currently no separation of duties between Chengery or Burau. The plan is for them to work as a team.
“We’re all going to just work together wonderfully,” Kohut said. “I think it’s just going to be a really strong team for the school.”
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