From The President

Dear De La Salle Family,

I am blessed and honored to be called to serve our community as President. Before I tell you a little bit about who I am, I want to take a moment to offer a word of gratitude to Br. Tom Lackey ’65. Brother Tom has served his alma mater well over these past four years. Thank you, Brother Tom, for all you have done for our school. I follow in Br. Tom’s footsteps as the first layman to serve our school as President. While that distinction may strike some as unusual, it really is not that atypical for Lasallian education. As you may know, St. John Baptist de La Salle’s first companions were laymen.

As for my background, I am like so many of our young men who walk the halls each day at DLS. I come from a working class family in Toledo, Ohio. I am a product of Catholic education and a former Jesuit seminarian. I am married and the father of two teen-age daughters. My mom and dad introduced me to the faith at an early age. I have grown to love the Gospel and feel a deep connection to all things Lasallian. My heart has been touched many times over these past months since my appointment as President by the kindness of the Brothers and their lay partners. My heart rejoices at the opportunity God has given me to be of service to this marvelous school community. A few short weeks ago, I spent two days in Lincroft, NJ, at the “home office” of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for the District of Eastern North America along with six other new Chief Administrative Officers. During our time together, we heard from the Brother Visitor, Br. Dennis Malloy, FSC. Br. Dennis is a wonderful man who clearly loves the Institute (of the Christian Brothers) and the Church. In one session with us Br. Dennis made it clear that we are a Lasallian ministry if we remain focused on serving those at the margins of society and always bring the Gospel to those we serve. This is our mission at DLS and it is the mission that the Brothers and their lay partners have carried out since 1926. I commit to you this day that each one of us at DLS are proud of our Lasallian heritage, and we will work hard each and every day to remain focused on our work – to care for those who are at the margins of society and to bring the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to our students and our entire community. I look forward to walking this journey with you.

St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts forever!

In Christ,

John M. Knight President