Meet St. Raphael’s New Principal
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul Dull could not have picked a more challenging time to begin as the new principal at St. Raphael Catholic School in Crystal.
St. Raphael provides a classical education with a focus on virtue and character. Dull will focus on enrollment and helping the school flourish.
“There are many things that attracted me to St. Rafael’s. Number one is it has almost 70 years of great service here in the community. It also has faithful Catholic teaching, and a classical education with a focus on virtue and character. I think that one of the strengths of St. Raphael’s is that it focuses on the whole child and the whole family,” said Dull.
With a master’s in K-12 education and a master’s in philosophy a conversation with Dull reveals a man of well thought out conviction in his approach to Catholic education.
“We just took on the classical piece a few years ago and I think it holds a lot of promise because really it starts with a Christian anthropology. It sounds kind of heady to say Christian anthropology, but it just means who are you and where did you come from. As a Catholic school faithful to the Catholic teaching, we believe little Johnnie little Susie, is no less than a gift from heaven. And that sounds cute or cheesy, but we firmly believe that that’s the starting point,” said Dull.
The new principal believes St. Raphael has a lot to offer the local community and visa versa.
“We’ve had some challenges in the recent past at St. Raphael, some with enrollment, some with focus, some with getting our word out into the community and really being a part of the community. One of the things I firmly believe in is called a theology of place. And really that just means bloom where you’re planted. So we would like St. Raphael to be even more in our community and our community in our school,” he said.
Dull says the vision for St. Raphael is just beginning.
“I like taking something small especially if we have a growth mentality. And this school has a growth mentality right now. It’s exciting. The core of what we’re going to grow is super solid. Excellent teachers who love the children, families who not just love their children, but the education that we can provide here at Saint Raphael’s.”
