Laura Blake, of Oil City, has been named the Venango Region Catholic School’s first president. Blake has been serving as principal at Seton Catholic School in Meadville, where she is also a faculty member.

The campuses of the Venango Region Catholic School are Venango Catholic High School and St. Stephen Elementary School in Oil City and St. Patrick Elementary School in Franklin. Blake’s “lead by example” approach has led to success at Seton both as an administrator and in the classroom as a teacher.

“Our board is excited and looking forward to beginning our work with Laura,” said Greg Merkel, chairman of the Venango Region Catholic School board of directors. “Given her wealth of knowledge and solid educational experience, we are certain that school parents, faculty, staff and the entire community will recognize her many talents and assist her in guiding the continuing evolution of our new school,” Merkel added.

Blake will immediately begin transitioning into her new role with Venango Region. She has also served as the mentor for Erie Diocese principal candidates and as a trainer for an Erie Diocese program for teachers completing Level II certification.

In addition, she has chaired a Middle States accreditation committee and served as chair for the diocesan Building in Truth and Love strategic planning committee for school-level planning.

This article was originally published in The Derrick & The News-Herald. It can be found at www.thederrick.com.