Mrs. Mary Parola

Marywood College, B.S. in Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Penn State University, M.S. in Special Education
Bellarmine University, Ed.S., Instructional Leadership and School Administration

For the past 16 years, Mrs. Parola has been an educator in the Archdiocese of Louisville. She also taught in Jefferson County Public Schools, KY and Fairfax County Public Schools, VA for several years. She taught science at St. Leonard for 12 years prior to becoming the principal. Mrs. Parola considers being the principal of St. Leonard Community School as one of the greatest gifts that God has bestowed upon her.

While teaching at Saint Leonard, Mrs. Parola was the first Archdiocesan recipient of Operation Brightside’s Fred Wiche Award for the planning and construction of a “wetland” outdoor classroom using plants and animals native to Kentucky. Mary was also the recipient of a 2007 Aegon Grant to video conference with NASA astronauts and engineers to commemorate the 50th anniversary of SPUTNIK along with other space-related science activities.

Mrs. Parola has compiled an award-winning team who believes in collaborative work to guide children to be all that God has planned for them to be. Staff work with each other, families, and the community to provide daily experiences for children to grow in character, compassion, and faith. The goal for SLS children and staff is for each of them to become the best people they can possibly be.

Mrs. Parola and her husband Art have three children, Arthur, Andrew, and Martina, all Saint Leonard graduates. In her spare time, Mrs. Parola enjoys walking her dogs, running, biking with her husband, and reading.