Diocesan Catholic Schools Welcome New Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement

By Carissa Krautscheid

The Diocese of Tucson department for Catholic schools added a new position to their team. Melissa Lopez Gruenhagen is the new Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement. 

Sheri Dahl, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, welcomes Melissa to her team. “Melissa’s position will focus primarily on accreditation. She will serve as a Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) Commissioner for our schools, which means she will accompany schools in their six-year accreditation cycles and oversee all steps in the school improvement cycle.” 

What is accreditation and why is it important? Melissa explained, “Accreditation is a cycle where a school evaluates itself on national standards and benchmarks. The school performs self-analysis in four different domains. It takes a year to dig into the data and do a self-study. Then, the school ranks itself on where it’s at with those four domains and the faculty and staff set actionable goals for improvement. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the great work they are doing. A visiting committee will review that self-study and data and give recommendations. They either affirm the analysis and findings, or they might suggest changes. The school will review their progress every year according to the goals they set.” 

Accreditation is important for ensuring that all schools maintain high standards of quality education. “The Diocese of Tucson’s schools are first and foremost Catholic,” emphasized Melissa. “They are also excellent schools. The goal is to help our schools to be academically excellent.” 

“You either love accreditation and get very excited,” said Melissa, “or you dread it. I am in the first camp. I’m looking forward to helping the schools.” 

As the commissioner for secondary schools for accreditation, Melissa will help the schools to transition to new standards and protocols for excellence in education. Melissa will make sure that schools feel comfortable and confident in enacting this new protocol. “Accreditation is a lot of detailed work that schools do together. It's important that schools and leaders have a handle on what needs to be done and that they feel confident in the work they're doing with their teams.” 

Sheri Dahl said, “Having a full-time person to focus on accreditation and school improvement will ultimately help schools know, understand, and plan for continuous improvement in these four areas: Mission & Catholic Identity, Academic Excellence, Governance & Leadership, and Operational Vitality.” 

Melissa is excited to join the Catholic schools team. “I’ve always appreciated that our diocese has a collaborative group of leaders and teachers who are passionate about quality, Catholic education. At the new principals' orientation, I could already see that they are eager to get to work. It’s a really exciting group of leaders. They have a shared focus on student growth and student learning. It was refreshing after a very challenging two years.” 

As a seventh generation Tucsonan, Melissa is very well acquainted with the Diocese of Tucson and its Catholic schools. Her grandparents met in the first graduating class at Salpointe, with Melissa and her parents to follow. Her parents also went to St. Cyril and St. Joseph. Melissa attended Saints Peter and Paul. Now her own children are attending Catholic schools in Tucson.

“I always wanted to be a teacher,” said Melissa, “and to serve a population of students who might not be able to afford a Catholic education.”  

Melissa found San Miguel High School to be a perfect balance. She taught as a high school history teacher for ten years then received her master's degree from Notre Dame through their Marianne Remick Leadership Program. Melissa worked in San Miguel’s administration for seven years, including as the dean of students, assistant principal for curriculum instruction, and interim principal twice. “I saw a broad range of positions and experiences,” she said. “I just love San Miguel so much and truly appreciated the opportunities I had there.” 

Just before the pandemic, Melissa moved to Las Vegas to be the first official principal at Cristo Rey Saint Viator High School. She was drawn back home by the opportunity to join the Department of Catholic Schools in this new position. Her work and contribution will help ensure that our Catholic schools continue to move in the right direction, pursuing excellence of education, operations, and faith formation. 

Welcome, Melissa!