Montini Catholic High School names new principal

Montini Catholic High School in Lombard announced the appointment of Chris Tiritilli as the new principal, effective July 1.

Tiritilli is the successor to Kevin Beirne, who was announced as Montini’s new president after serving five years as principal, according to a news release.

“We were looking for a leader who is dynamic, visionary, energetic, strives for excellence, embodies servant leadership and is smart, resourceful, a seasoned decision-maker, connects well with students, colleagues and all stakeholder groups and lives our Lasallian mission,” Beirne said in a letter to Montini’s school community announcing Tiritilli’s appointment. “It turns out we had to look no further than our current assistant principal for student services to identify a candidate ideally suited to this role.

“Mr. Tiritilli joined Montini Catholic’s leadership team in the summer of 2022 and has quickly and positively impacted our school. In the short time he’s been in the assistant principal role, Mr. Tiritilli has completed a re-engineering of our student accommodation process and created an accommodation guide and stewarded a reimagining of the human services process such that the work of this group is more efficient and better equipped to meet student needs.

“He streamlined and standardized the course remediation program and led the design of new processes and procedures in our school counseling department. Due to his work, there’s no doubt that we are far better equipped to support our students than we were just a year ago. As important as this work has been though, Mr. Tiritilli has also proven to be a student-centered leader, quickly getting to know our students and school community, embracing our mission and vision and having an incredibly positive presence in our school. His passion for Catholic education and working with young people is evident to all those who’ve had the privilege of working with him.”

Before working at Montini, Tiritilli served as principal at St. Mary of Gostyn School in Downers Grove for six years and Holy Family Catholic School in Bensenville for two years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from DePaul University and a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Lewis University.

“I am very excited and proud to accept the principal position at Montini Catholic,” Tiritilli said in the release. “I have enjoyed the current year and have been getting to know our students, staff and community. … Building positive relationships with students, staff and families is one of my favorite things to do, as well as the most effective way to support positive and transformative change in any setting. My first year here at Montini has been a wonderful and rewarding experience. … Each group has been so warm and welcoming to me, as well, which has only affirmed my desire to be a part of the Montini community.”