Diverse experiences help new principal lead

The third time very well could be the charm for the Rev. David Peck.

St. Edward Central Catholic High School's new principal and superintendent knows its glossy linoleum halls well - after serving two different terms there in the 1980s and '90s.

Today, the 53-year-old priest - who entered the seminary after years working on Wall Street - is back at the Elgin school with a host of experiences under his belt.

Coach. Teacher. Financial whiz. Priest.

All could come into play as he leads the 380-student school through an economically challenging time.

Peck, during an interview Tuesday morning, St. Ed's first day of school, said he was first drawn to the school as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. There, a faculty member at the university and priest who also worked at St. Ed's, invited Peck to teach math, psychology and theology and coach the school's football, basketball and baseball teams.

Peck stayed until 1983. He headed to New York, earning another graduate degree at NYU and working on Wall Street in mergers and acquisitions.

There, he had a fat salary. A Jaguar. An obscene expense account.

But life was empty, he said. At 34, he entered Mundelein seminary.

Newly ordained, he returned to St. Ed's, as an assistant principal from 1994 to 1998.

Since then, he's served as the Rockford Diocese's pilgrimage director, traveling to Rome a dozen times in recent years, and as pastor at St. Patrick's parish in Rochelle.

Peck, along with all other priests in the Rockford Diocese, receives his appointments directly from Bishop Thomas Doran. This year, he replaces the Rev. Edward Seisser in overseeing the school as well as the Rockford Diocese's nine feeder parishes, leading recruitment efforts and helping out at masses.

The change will allow the school to have a full-time priest as well as a day-to-day school administrator. For the past three years, Seisser served double duty - as pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in downtown Elgin as well as running the school.

Peck said Seisser- who is now overseeing the school board and continuing his duties as pastor at St. Mary's - has been a "tremendous mentor." Living together at the same Elgin rectory, "it's nice to come home and run questions by him some nights. He's been through it," he said.

Raised in Montgomery, Peck is the third of 13 children.

After attending three high schools in four years, Peck attended Lehigh University in northeastern Pennsylvania, where he played soccer and baseball.

Though he's not formally coaching these days, sports are still an important part of his everyday life.

Peck ran the notoriously hot Chicago Marathon in 2007 - finishing with a time of 4 hours and 24 minutes. In his free time, Peck said likes to run and is part of a master's swim program at the Centre of Elgin.

He also plays for the "Running Revs" - a group of Rockford Diocese priests who challenge teams at the local Catholic high schools.

"We're pretty good," he said. "We have a guy who can dunk and everything."

He's also finishing his doctoral dissertation on medical ethics for the University of St. Mary of the Lake.

Peck says he keeps index cards on each of the school's 380 students, memorizing their names and stats over the summer.

An intimate atmosphere is one of the school's best selling points. And also one of its biggest challenges.

Though the school received a dozen students from the closure of Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison last May, enrollment is still down 20 students from last year.

Enrollment was steady at about 650 students in his prior two tenures.

"We didn't have Bartlett High School and South Elgin High School back then," he said.

With tuition at $5,668, Peck also faults the economy for fewer students.

Increasing enrollment at the school will be a major focus in the coming months, he said.

By 11 a.m. Tuesday, Peck said the day had gone smoothly so far, but admitted to "being a little nervous" making his first announcement over the school PA system. "A sort of healthy anxiety," he said. "You feel so much energy in this building. We've got a great year ahead of us," he said.