A local principal will soon be heard on radio airwaves.
Heidi Altman, head of school for St. Mary’s Catholic School, was a guest on the Armor of God Catholic Radio show. The episode was a part of the Central Texas station’s Hometown Heroes series.
“I had never done Armor of God yet, it’s kind of a newer station,” Altman said. “It was a great honor to be asked to talk about the school and my experience, and also promote their radio station.” During the episode, Altman talks about the private school’s history, her personal journey and other current issues or topics that St. Mary’s has its focus on.
For instance, Altman said she described how the school was struggling when she took over in 2016. The school that had been around for over 120 years, faced low attendance and was not able to offer high school grade levels when she arrived.
Now, the school has brought its high school back, has stable attendance levels and has sports at all levels.
Altman said part of the school’s success came from reinstituting the classical model of curriculum, which focuses on building an overall foundation of knowledge.
“I think one of the reasons why Catholic schools, or any school, can get a little lost is that they just forget who they are,” Altman said. “They go chasing a mission that is not theirs, a mission that’s not who they are called to be. So, really just focusing on who God calls us to be.”
She added that returning to the curriculum model allowed for the education to be reordered and become more chronologically aligned.
Altman’s appearance on the Armor of God radio station stemmed from meeting the hosts of the Hometown Heroes show, Tom McNew and Anne Marie McNew, at the radio station’s banquet in August.
Tom McNew, who also is Armor of God’s executive director, said he could tell how much Altman loves her students by talking to her.
“One of the things I know that will come out of it is that she truly believes she is there to augment what the parents are doing,” Mr. McNew said. “She believes truly that parents are the first educators of their children. She believes her job is to continue teaching kids how to think, not necessarily what to think.”
While the station does not reach Taylor yet, it plans to do so in the near future by purchasing a station that will spread its frequency down I-35 into the East Williamson County area.
The episode will air Sunday, Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. and can be heard on the Armor of God’s app or at armorofgodradio.
com. “It is an opportunity for all of our listeners, not just the folks in Taylor, to learn about the school,” McNew said.
Hometown Heroes episodes normally last about 20 to 30 minutes.
Heidi Altman, left, head of school for St. Mary’s Catholic School, is interviewed by Armor of God Catholic Radio hosts Tom McNew and Anne Marie McNew. The episode was recorded in Altman’s office. Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic School
