Mr. Edward Paloucek
6th & 7th Grades
We are thrilled to introduce the 5th/6th Grade Homeroom Teacher! He has more than 25 years of experience in Catholic schools as a teacher and administrator including at Trinity Academy, St. Jerome's, and most recently as the outgoing Headmaster of Providence Academy in LaCrosse. His friends, family, and students alike agree Mr. Paloucek is not only a gifted educator but an even greater man of incredibly deep faith. He has experienced his share of the sufferings of the Cross and allowed them to mold him into a disciple of Christ.
He relates, "My 30-year journey in education has been marked by triumph and tragedy. For many years, I worked alongside my wife, an excellent educator that specialized in early education, and was a constant support and guide. Not long after the birth of our sixth child, I lost Ann Marie to cancer. My faith intensified as I clung to the inspiration of the saints, with the words of Saint Philip Neri making an indelible impression: "The true way to advance in holy virtues is to persevere in a holy cheerfulness." Eucharistic Adoration, the Holy Mass, and regular Confession really helped me to get through some tough times as the Lord in His mercy led me to a new valley of brightness: an introduction to a beautiful Catholic mother of two that I would later marry and would bless our family with two more little additions."
He believes passionately in the mission and vision of classical Catholic education and the transformation such an education can have on the student. He himself imbibes deep learning and is a man of many talents especially musical ones. Mr. Paloucek is a living witness to the fruitful effects of a beautiful education. He quotes a profound line from a favorite John Dryden poem “…from harmony from Heav’nly harmony this universal frame began…through all the compass of notes it ran, the diapason closing on man” (A Song for Saint Cecilia’s Day) and explains, "Music has been a constant companion in my life. I am eternally grateful to my parents. The interest they cultivated in the musical compositions of Vivaldi, Beethoven, Wagner, Dvořák, as well as other art forms, provided me with my earliest encounters with the Transcendent as I grew to understand and to appreciate the pursuit of beauty, truth and goodness."
Mr. Paloucek is an avid and award-winning violinist with a keen interest in Irish music including as a long-time performer at the Irish Fest in Milwaukee and with the band Atlantic Wave. "As I have lived through assorted challenges of life" he remarks, "books, music and the visual arts have continued to be important. I began playing violin at a young age. Some thirty years ago, my interest in playing Beethoven Violin Sonatas expanded (some would say “corrupted!”) into playing Irish Traditional Music. A passion for chamber music, opera, and painting has continued right alongside my interest in jigs and reels."
Mr. Paloucek loves teaching literature and also has a particular love for the lives of the saints. "In literature" he said, "I am typically drawn to books of historical interest, fact as well as fiction. One of the most satisfying reads I completed in the past few years was Tolstoy’s War and Peace. I recently finished Father Augustin Auffray’s classic biography of Saint John Bosco—a must read for anyone in the teaching profession."
We are incredibly blessed to have an educator of Mr. Paloucek's credentials and experience as well as a man with such strong personal witness of the Catholic Faith.
"As the inaugural year of Saint James the Less Academy begins, I am eager to enter into a faith-filled environment whose goal is to ennoble our students as they mine the richness of the unfathomable majesty of God in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom."
Fun Fact: Mr. Paloucek was the confirmation sponsor to our beloved pastor, Father Jordan!
