Good Shepherd Catholic School in Denver Heads Back to School with Fresh Leadership and Renewed Mission
- Sheryl Tirol
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
Principal Joe Barrett says school enters 101st year with excitement for the future
As students at Good Shepherd Catholic School in Denver prepared to return to classes for the school’s 101st year, Principal Joe Barrett anticipated the start of something special.
"My overarching message has been one of renewal of a new time, like the new era of Good Shepherd," said Barrett, who begins his third year as principal after 15 years as a teacher at the school.
The renewal comes with new leadership in key positions. Father Chris Marbury became the parish's new pastor on July 1, while Dakota Pesce joined as the new assistant principal. For Barrett, the combination represents an opportunity to strengthen the school's Catholic mission.
"The team that we're beginning to form, and continuing to strengthen the school as a primary ministry of the parish, is quite honestly the thing I'm most excited about," Barrett said.
Good Shepherd celebrated its 100th year of Catholic education last year, marking a milestone that connects directly to the unique history of the parish itself. The school traces its roots to 1924-25, when both St. Philomena and St. John parishes had graduating classes. The parishes merged in 1982.
Initially, the combined school operated in two buildings, with some teachers traveling between locations throughout the day. In 2003, a major renovation brought all students under one roof at the current location, though several current staff members remember the dual-campus days.
"We still have teachers on staff that were teaching in both buildings after the merger, before they were all under one roof," Barrett said.
This year brings some academic changes alongside the new leadership. The school is strengthening its implementation of a renewed history curriculum released by the Archdiocese that moves away from traditional social studies to follow salvation history and human history chronologically.
"The new history curriculum is distinctly Catholic, really mirroring the story of salvation history and human history chronologically from the beginning," Barrett explained. Pesce will be instrumental in strengthening the program's implementation.
As families and students begin the new school year, the faculty and staff of Good Shepherd — and Catholic schools throughout the archdiocese — have been preparing to welcome them for some time.
The week before classes, all staff members attended an opening Mass with Father Marbury, who delivered what Barrett called "an incredible homily on what we do in Catholic education and our call to show the love of Christ to all of our students and families."
Teachers also completed safety training and CPR/first aid certification, which are required for all staff members. Many attended 7 a.m. Mass last Friday for the Solemnity of the Assumption as well.
For Barrett, who has three of his four children attending Good Shepherd, the investment is both professional and personal.
"I have three kids at the school, so I'm invested as a parent as well," he said. "I just think that this is the beginning of a continuing great history of our school, but also something new is beginning, and that's really exciting."
The school serves students from 3-year-old preschoolers through eighth grade, maintaining its mission of Catholic education that began more than a century ago while looking ahead to the next hundred years.
"There's great energy and excitement in the building as we take the first steps towards what the next 100 years look like for our school and our parish and the mission of Catholic education," Barrett said.
