Archdiocese gets new superintendent

A former D.C. special education teacher who has spent the bulk of his career in public education has been named superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington, church officials said Monday morning.

Bert L'Homme will be in charge of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese, which serves 29,000 students in 64 95 schools in the District and Maryland. He will have to contend with the decline in enrollment in Catholic schools as more people turn to charter schools.

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said in a statement that he was "delighted to appoint Deacon L’Homme as superintendent because of his extensive experience as a superintendent and his commitment to the Catholic Church.”

L'Homme has been interim chief operating officer and director of education policy at the Children's Defense Fund since July 2009. Prior to that, he was superintendent of schools for Franklin County, N.C. From 1982 to 1994, he was principal and executive director of City Lights, a school for at-risk youths that closed in January 2009.

L'Homme replaces Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill in the superintendent's spot. Weitzel-O'Neill is leaving to become director of the Center for Catholic Education at Boston College.

-- Michael Birnbaum