Joe Dickens, principal of St. Paul’s School. Covington

Joe Dickens assumed the principalship of St. Paul’s School in Covington on July 1 and will be entering his 19th year at the school and his 26th year in education.

During his time at St. Paul’s, Dickens has enjoyed serving as a coach, English instructor, departmental chair and assistant principal. 

He began his career at his alma mater, Holy Cross, before moving to the northshore. His educational credentials include a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s in educational administration and certifications in English, social studies and principalship K-12.

Dickens sees his role in education through the prism of the mission of schools conducted by De La Salle Christian Brothers: To provide a human and Christian education open to all, especially those in need.

“St. La Salle linked our own personal salvation with the salvation of students entrusted to our care,” Dickens said. “This is the primary reason for dedicating my career to Catholic education.”

Dickens wants to continue to augment the rigorous, rich curriculum he helped to oversee at St. Paul’s over the past decade.

“My predecessor, Trevor Watkins, brought a tremendous amount of diversity to the curriculum during his time as our principal,” Dickens said. “As a result, our students are able to explore future careers as engineers, lawyers, businessmen, computer programmers, doctors, etc., before entering college. My vision, too, will include exposing our students to what they need now with an eye to what they will need 10 years from now. Of course, their maturation, spiritually and emotionally, will remain palpable throughout the curriculum and extracurricular programs.”

Dickens said his school’s team goals also include winning a third consecutive Blue Ribbon from the U.S. Department of Education.