RETIREMENTS: Karla Padilla, The Madeleine Choir School

Friday, May. 31, 2024

SALT LAKE CITY — Karla Padilla, director of admissions at The Madeleine Choir School, is going to start a new chapter in her life. 

Side by side with her husband, Deacon Duane Padilla, Karla Padilla has served the Diocese of Salt Lake City for many years in different positions.

“Through this journey, I have been able to combine the love of my Catholic faith with my passion for education. These two pillars greatly define who I am and my values. I am grateful to have had this opportunity,” said Padilla about her decision to leave MCS.

She began with Utah Catholic Schools at St. Andrew Elementary, where she also served as the parish’s youth minister.

Her service with the diocese has taught her that people always need to be compassionate and kind, she said.

“I learned that each family has a story, and the importance of being empathetic and compassionate,” she said. “I also learned that there will be times when you have to be the voice of those who don’t have one.”

As director of admissions, she saw her job as being more than just helping families fill out an application, showing them the school, or filling a spot in a classroom. 

“It has been about making a connection,” and treating each family with dignity and respect regardless of their background, race, socioeconomic status, lifestyle or beliefs, she said. “It has also been about listening attentively, being empathetic, educating families on how a system works, and walking alongside them on a journey that will require them to give significantly of their time and resources and one that will impact their child for a lifetime.”

To truly follow Christ’s teachings and Pope Francis’s directives, “as a Catholic school system, we must work to develop and implement a diocesan-wide special education program to help students who need extra support, so they can also thrive and be rewarded,” she said.

To ensure that Utah’s Catholic schools are welcoming places for refugee families and multi-language learners, they must invest in getting more teachers ESL-endorsed, Padilla said, adding that she hopes she was able to be a voice for the ones who felt they did not have one; “that even in the smallest way I have made a positive difference in the lives of those I served, and in some way changed a system for the better.” 

The connections that Padilla created have helped MCS create a diverse community, said Gregory Glenn, the school’s pastoral administrator.

“Her advocacy and support for minority families and students has allowed us to expand our outreach to vulnerable families in our community who ordinarily would not reach out to us,” he said. “She has done an extraordinary job of making these families feel welcome. We are very grateful to her for this effort on behalf of MCS.”

Padilla has left a solid mark on the school, and will be greatly missed, Glenn added. “Karla has always been an amazing defender of the underdog, or those who are not at the top of the school’s musical, academic or social life. She has passionately supported those in our community who may not stand out in performative ways but need to be fully included in the life of the school. As difficult as it may have been in facing these challenges, I will always be grateful to her for her voice on the behalf of all of our students.”

Padilla said that she will always remember the families that she served and how they helped her grow professionally and as a human being. Now, in retirement, she, her husband and two young adult children will have more time to travel and continue their family traditions, she said.