BILLINGS - Nolan Trafton, a former Billings Central girls' soccer coach and current teacher, was selected as the school's new principal, the school announced Wednesday.
Trafton is replacing Shel Hanser, who announced last month he was stepping down to help with his family's business.
Trafton attended Billings Central Catholic Schools before earning his teaching certificate at MSU Billings, according to Andrew McDonald, president of Billings Catholic Schools.
Here's the full letter from McDonald:
Dear BCCHS Community,
After much prayerful consideration and consultation with the Principal Search Committee we would like to announce that Mr. Nolan Trafton has been selected to be principal of Billings Central Catholic High School.
The principal search committee, composed of current parents, board members, and BCCHS faculty, analyzed the community feedback and created a principal profile. Overwhelmingly, responses indicated that we wanted a servant leader, focused on good stewardship, and committed for the long term; someone with a strong Catholic identity, willing to listen to various perspectives but with a clear vision for the future of our schools. Additional priorities were knowledge of our system with an emphasis on continued academic excellence and a relational approach to tackling the challenges our system will face in the coming years.
The Principal Search Committee believes we have found the right person for this job in Mr. Nolan Trafton.
Born into this system, he has been around Billings Catholic Schools and administrators in our system from an early age. After graduating from Central, he attended MSU-Billings for his teaching degree. It was never in question where he would begin his career as a teacher, and he immediately returned to Billings Catholic Schools.
While serving as a teacher within BCS, Mr. Trafton fostered positive relationships with students, parents, and colleagues while serving on various committees of the school board, gaining leadership experience, planning system-wide faculty retreats, and participating in school level leadership teams and assisting with the accreditation of St. Francis.
Concurrently, Mr. Trafton returned to school at the University of Mary in pursuit of a master’s degree in educational leadership.
The mission of Billings Catholic Schools is to “provide an exceptional Catholic education emphasizing formation in faith, family spirit, and academic excellence.” In Mr. Trafton, as we welcome him as the next principal of Billings Central Catholic High School, the evidence of this mission is clear in his own path, and in his desire to carry on the mission of BCS for future generations.
We welcome Mr. Nolan Trafton as the next leader at BCCHS and pray for God’s blessing as he begins his work as principal charged with providing for our children a Catholic education emphasizing faith, family spirit, and academic excellence.
In the coming days we will provide an opportunity for the community to gather with and demonstrate our support for Mr. Trafton as we embark on this next chapter for the Billings Catholic Schools.
Wishing you a blessed and joyous Easter,
Andrew McDonald
President, Billings Catholic Schools
