ERIE, Pa. (EYT) \u2013 The Diocese of Erie announced the appointment of Mrs. Laura Blake as Superintendent of Catholic Schools, effective June 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
A longtime educator and administrator within the Diocese of Erie, Blake currently serves as Assistant Superintendent and brings nearly 20 years of experience in Catholic education, including service as a teacher, principal, school president, and diocesan leader.<\/p>\n
Blake succeeds the current superintendent, Jim Gallagher, who led the office for the last decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura Blake is a dedicated and faith-filled leader who understands the mission and importance of Catholic education,\u201d Bishop Lawrence T. Persico said. \u201cHer experience, commitment to students, and collaborative leadership style will help continue the strong tradition of Catholic schools throughout our diocese.\u201d<\/p>\n
In accepting the appointment, Blake reflected on the mission of Catholic education and the opportunity ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith deep gratitude and a profound sense of responsibility, I am honored to accept Bishop Persico\u2019s appointment as the next Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Erie,\u201d Blake said. \u201cCatholic schools are communities where faith and academic excellence work together to form young people for lives of purpose, compassion, and discipleship. I look forward to listening, learning, and collaborating with our pastors, boards, presidents, principals, teachers, and families as we continue strengthening Catholic education across the diocese.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallagher expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the diocesan school community and confidence in Blake\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a privilege to serve the Diocese of Erie and work alongside such dedicated educators, boards, pastors, and school families,\u201d Gallagher emphasized. \u201cWhile I am excited to serve the Church in a new capacity and return to my Ohio roots, I am deeply grateful for the relationships and experiences I have shared within our Catholic schools. Laura Blake is an exceptional leader who cares deeply about students and the mission of Catholic education, and I know our schools will continue to flourish under her guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blake began her career in Catholic education as a teacher and then principal at Seton Catholic School. She later served as president of Venango Region Catholic School.<\/a> Since 2022, she has served as Assistant Superintendent for Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Erie.<\/p>\n She holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Gannon University, principal certification, and a Pennsylvania Superintendent Letter of Eligibility.<\/p>\n The Diocese of Erie Catholic Schools serve nearly 5,000 students across 13 counties in northwest Pennsylvania, forming young people in faith, academic excellence, service, and leadership, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n As the Diocese of Erie also enters a historic time of episcopal transition, diocesan leaders encourage the faithful to continue praying for Catholic schools, educators, and the discernment of the Church\u2019s future leadership. More information about Catholic education and diocesan updates, including the episcopal transition, can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ERIE, Pa. (EYT) \u2013 The Diocese of Erie announced the appointment of Mrs. Laura Blake as Superintendent of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[35589,4052,136,138,137,88692],"class_list":["post-208547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-catholic-schools","tag-diocese-of-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-laura-blake"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}