Guadalupe Regional Middle School names new principal

Guadalupe Regional Middle School's new principal is a Boston College and Notre Dame graduate with ties to the Rio Grande Valley.

Michael Motyl, who taught middle school classes at St. Joseph Catholic School in Edinburg as a member of the Alliance of Catholic Education (ACE) program at Notre Dame from 2001 to 2004, will assume his new position on July 1.

"The question is why do you do you have Catholic education," Brother Leo Shea, president of the tuition-free Catholic middle school said of the appointment. "We had about 10 applicants and I felt he knew why we were doing this."

Motyl replaces Catherine Thomas, Guadalupe Regional's principal since it opened in 2002, who is leaving in June to take a position in educational administration in Houston.

Motyl graduated from Boston College in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in education and mathematics. He earned his master's of education with middle school concentration from the University of Notre Dame in 2003 as part of the ACE program. He will finish a second master's from Notre Dame this summer in educational administration.

Guadalupe Regional Middle School is a tuition-free school serving financially needy families who want a Catholic education for their children but otherwise could not afford it. It is supported by three religious orders, the Marist Brothers of the Schools, the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, as well as various fundraising efforts including the Society of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The school is one of 64 tuition-free Catholic middle schools in the United States that belong to the NativityMiguel Network. It is located in 10 classrooms at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 1214 Lincoln St. in Brownsville. The school has two classes each in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, with 90 students enrolled.

In addition to its religious aspect, the curriculum is college preparatory, working in conjunction with St. Joseph Academy in Brownsville.

Each year, St. Joseph provides 10 full-tuition scholarships to Guadalupe Regional students. This will be the first year St. Joseph's graduating class includes former Guadalupe Regional students.

glong@brownsvilleherald.com