Principal of Salesian High School

John Flaherty’s connection to the Salesians of St. John Bosco came when he was a young man.  In 1956, his parents enrolled him at Camp Don Bosco in Newton, N.J. for a few weeks of his summer vacation.  Enthusiastic about the experience and the caring and fun-loving Salesian brothers and priests that made the camp so outstanding, he returned for the next few summers. 
His connection with the Salesians continued during his final year of grammar school when he spent his 8th grade at St. Michael’s Salesian School in Goshen, NY.   He still remembers that year in 1958-59 as one of the best years of his life.  He did not recognize it at the time, but his immersion into the Salesian system of education had already begun to cast a solid base.
He spent the next four years at Mount St. Michael Academy (Class of 1963) and then went on to study Biology at St. Leo University in Florida.  After graduating in 1967, John was accepted to St. Louis University to study dentistry.  Since the application process required him to take the Dental Aptitude Test in the spring after his graduation, he decided that he would get a teaching job for one year and start dental school the following year. 
He was offered a biology teacher position at a White Plains Catholic high school and was to return the next day to sign the contract.  On the way home from the interview he got lost and wound up in New Rochelle - this was an uncharted territory for a Bronx boy.  Nothing looked familiar until he saw a sign that read Salesian High School.  He decided to pull in for directions and to see if he could find anyone who may have known some of the brothers and priests that he remembered from his past.
Upon entering the school, he ran into then Director, Fr. John Masiello, SDB. The conversation focused on some of the brothers and priests that they both knew.  Finally, Fr. John asked him, what had brought him to Salesian on that particular day and John said that he had just returned from a an interview in White Plains and was stopping to ask for directions.  Fr. John said that Salesian was also looking for a science teacher.  There was no need to ponder the offer, it was clear to John that Don Bosco had intervened and arranged this meeting.  He signed his first teaching contract right there and then.
All thoughts of dentistry went out the window when John began to teach science on September of 1967.  He loved what he was doing, and more importantly, he loved where he was doing it.  Salesian High School became his home away from home, and if you ask his wife Valerie, she may tell you he actually spends more time at school than at home.  His students and his fellow educators have always been part of his family.
The many hats that he has worn throughout these 40 years at Salesian outline John’s career.  Some may remember him for his years as a biology and chemistry teacher; some may recall him for his short but exciting time as the coach of Salesian’s first ice hockey team; most will remember the time that he spent teaching Drivers Education and still others may recall his years as Dean of Students.
In May of 1989, the Provincial of the Salesians of St. John Bosco, Fr. Richard McCormick, appointed Mr. Flaherty as the first lay Principal of Salesian High School.  Difficult times had put the school in the precarious position of possibly being forced to close.  The enrollment was below 250 and the challenges were great but so was the commitment of the Salesians to the school and the faculty and staff that worked alongside them. 
Thanks to his leadership, the commitment of the Salesian Community and the perseverance and dedication of the teachers, staff members, and administrators, the school has expanded and made many student-focused improvements to ensure that the work of St. John Bosco continued in this metropolitan area.
During his tenure as Principal, the student enrollment has doubled and the school completed its first-ever capital campaign that resulted in the construction of a new state-of the art science wing and a library and conference center.   What’s more, with its accreditation by The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Salesian High School is now well recognized and held in high esteem in the world of high school academia. 
Encouraged by the signs of the future, the school’s alumni, many of whom are John’s former students, have returned to their alma mater to help ensure that this wonderful school continues its mission to be a home that welcomes, a school that prepares for life, a parish where Christian values shape character, and a playground where lasting friendships are formed.
John and his wife Valerie are long-time residents of Yonkers, NY.
The entire Salesian High School Family joins together in thanking and congratulating John for his first forty years of service to the young men of Salesian High School.