RIVERTON — Leading St. Andrew Catholic School as principal is a dream come true for Holly Groves, who has wanted to be a teacher – and a principal in particular – since she was a young child.
A native Utahn, Groves grew up in Murray and attended public schools, where a loving elementary school principal had a lifelong impact on her.
“I wanted to create a school and a community, just like my principal had, growing up,” she said. “I just felt so special with her, and I felt like she truly saw me, and she celebrated me, and I wanted to create that for other kids, too.”
After high school Groves attended the University of Utah, where she received a Bachelor of Science in elementary education and a Master of Education in educational law and policy. She also has a school leadership license in K-12 administration. She previously taught in the Granite and Jordan School Districts and also taught at the University of Utah Reading Clinic.
Although she has always wanted to be a teacher, elementary education in particular has had a strong pull for Groves.
“The elementary kids just have my heart; they’re so, so sweet,” she said. “I think the most magical part about elementary is you can really see a ton of growth in one year.”
Groves appreciates the values of Catholic education and the small class sizes students enjoy in Utah Catholic Schools.
“The biggest benefit about the smaller private schools, especially Catholic schools, is you can know everybody and be like a little family,” she said.
“As a second-grade teacher or kindergarten teacher [in public school], I’d have almost 30 kids in my class,” she said. “Here, they might have 15 in the class, so it gives the teachers a lot more opportunities to work one on one with the kids, to help the kids who need a little bit more assistance, but also to really grow the kids who already have got it and extend their learning.”
Over the past several weeks in her new position, Groves has been at the school learning the ropes and getting ready for the new school year.
“I’ve been doing a ton to make sure that we’re prepared for this school year by just being ready to support the teachers,” she said. “The biggest thing for me and why I wanted to be a principal, besides creating that warm and welcoming community for kids, is I really think we need to support our teachers to better support our kids. So that’s my main focus this year, and for all the years to come — making sure teachers feel supported.”
Groves and her husband Jett have a daughter Belle, who will be a second-grader at St. Andrew’s this year. They have two dogs, Sally, a Belgian Malinois, and Lila, a Doberman Pinscher.
Groves love to garden and to bake and has already shared many homemade treats with the St. Andrew’s faculty. She also loves paddle boarding and, as a Daybreak resident, is often out on Oquirrh Lake or boarding along the new waterway.
After a time away from the Church, in the past few years Groves has returned to the roots of her faith, she said.
“Growing up, I always felt so welcomed and warm in the Catholic community, and I wanted that for my family, and I wanted to be a part of this again,” she said.
Groves is a member of the St. Andrew Parish community and through that experience has already met some of her future students, she said.
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