St. Mary’s School Introduces New Principal: “It’s a Dream Job”

BALLSTON SPA — St. Mary’s School in Ballston Spa has a new principal with a long history in education.

Katie Fleming, who took over the position in January, was previously the principal of a private school in Clifton Park. She also taught 4th grade at St. Mary’s while earning a master’s degree. She then worked for an education-related consulting firm for four years. She’s also been a St. Mary’s parishioner for 18 years.

“It’s a dream job,” Fleming said. “I’m really excited to be here.”

Fleming called herself kid-centered and said she’s regularly in and out of classrooms. Among her top priorities are ensuring that the parish and school work well together, and being ahead of the curve on early literacy standards.

“Governor Hochul has lots of things that are happening, early literacy wise and just literacy in general wise, and we are meeting all those standards ahead of time which I’m excited about,” Fleming said. 

Fleming said she wants her students to have “a really balanced day; some good social and emotional learning, lots of educational opportunities, lots of curiosity—those are certainly things that are really important to me as an educator.”

After three months on the job, Fleming said the position is “a lot of work but a lot fun. Seeing those little faces makes it worth it every day.”

St. Mary’s School is a small, private, Catholic, co-ed Pre-K through fifth grade school located in downtown Ballston Spa. For more information on the school, visit www.smsbspa.org.