The following story appeared in the February 11 Idaho Catholic Register.
Sara Cox will begin duties as the new principal at Sacred Heart Catholic School this fall. She’s pictured with her husband, Jared, children, Stella, on the right, and Collins and very large dog Frank. (Courtesy photo/Sara Cox)
By Emily Woodham
Staff Writer
After six months of searching, Sacred Heart Catholic School in Boise has a new principal.
Sara Cox, currently a first grade teacher at St. Joseph Catholic School in Boise, is new to administration, but brings to Sacred Heart 13 years of experience as a Catholic educator. “Sacred Heart is a great fit. I can’t wait to jump in and work with the faculty and staff,” Cox said.
Cox is a cradle Catholic, who comes from a family steeped in education. Her father is a teacher, and she has an aunt who is a university professor.
Cox completed her degree in education at the University of Northern Iowa in 2008. She and her husband, Jared, moved to Boise in 2009. She began teaching first grade at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Boise soon after settling in the area.
In order to offer more to her first grade students, she completed a master’s degree in literacy at Boise State in 2013.
Although she had not considered a role in administration, St. Joseph administrators encouraged her to look into a career in leadership. As she prayed about it, she was given more leadership opportunities within her role as a teacher. With encouragement
from her community, she decided to go back to Boise State for a master’s degree
in educational leadership, graduating in 2020.
“I graduated right when COVID hit. So I decided to wait a little bit to take that jump into leadership. I wanted to wait for an opportunity for a position that felt right. Sacred Heart hit that spot,” she said.
Although she believes that there is great value in public education, she loves bringing faith and education together in Catholic schools, she said. “I love the aspect of being able to incorporate our faith with our kids every day in our classrooms,” she said. “At St. Joe’s, the staff gets together and prays for each other. I think this really builds a feeling of family within the community.” To help children grow in Catholic morals and values adds greatly to the educational experience, she said.
Cox will continue as a first grade teacher at St. Joseph’s School until the end of the school year. However, she is also using this semester to spend time getting to know Sacred Heart’s faculty and staff. John Loffer, interim principal for Sacred Heart, is helping her transition so that she can start the new school year strong.
“They are a true family at Sacred Heart. It encompasses that whole aspect of why Catholic education is so important and why I really believe in Catholic education,” Cox said. “I’m very humbled and honored that Sacred Heart is willing to take a risk on me.”
Cox and her family are looking forward to becoming members of the Sacred Heart community by joining the parish.
“I’ve been encouraged a lot along the way. So I really owe it to the people that I’ve worked with for helping and giving me that strength,” she said.
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