Saint Viator names parent, former board member as new principal

A current parent and former board member takes the helm as Saint Viator High School’s new principal beginning next school year.

Erika Mickelburgh, who has been principal of Saint Paul of the Cross School in Park Ridge since 2018, will succeed current Principal Jon Baffico at the Arlington Heights Catholic high school effective July 1.

Baffico, in the position since 2022, is leaving to pursue new opportunities, school officials said.

Mickelburgh, who served on the Saint Viator school board from 2021 to 2024, has spent more than two decades as a school administrator, including head of secondary school at Saint Benedict Prep from 2010 to 2018 and president/principal of Saint Gregory High School from 2002 to 2010.

“As a parent of a current senior and former board member, I have experienced firsthand the mission of Saint Viator and look forward to partnering with the faculty and staff to strengthen the already evident vision of excellence,” Mickelburgh said in a news release.

At Saint Paul of the Cross, Mickelburgh increased enrollment, implemented an inclusion and student wellness program, led capital improvement projects, and developed a scholarship program for teacher graduate programs.

She started her career teaching English, World History and English as a Second Language and is an adjunct instructor at Loyola University Chicago.

Mickelburgh has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Loyola, a master’s in instructional leadership from Loyola, a master’s in teaching from Dominican University, and a bachelor’s in English and political science from DePaul University.