North Central is a tight knit community, so when a staff member or student decides to move on and leave the school, the impact of the loss is felt. Assistant Principal Julie Barthel will soon be leaving NC to become the new principal of Cathedral High School. After being at NC for nearly five years, she decided it was time to take the next step forward in her career. 

Barthel first decided to take the job at Cathedral on January 2. 

“Cathedral approached me for the job because I used to be an assistant principal there,” Barthel said.

Though Barthel officially accepted the position at the beginning of the month, she will likely be leaving to become acting principal at Cathedral around the end of January. For Barthel, the decision was not easy.

“It was really hard because I love North Central. For the first time in my life I actually made a pro and con list,” Barthel said. 

Becoming Cathedral’s principal was an offer for Barthel she simply could not pass up, however. 

“How much I love North Central definitely made it really hard, but since I’m an assistant principal here it’s obviously a step up in my career to become principal,” Barthel said. 

Barthel has multiple connections tying her to Cathedral.

“Both of my sons graduated from Cathedral, my daughter is a freshman there right now and I worked there for 12 years before I came here,” Barthel said.

NC’s student body will be what Barthel relishes the most from her tenure here. 

“I’ve most enjoyed the students and diversity here, and I think it’s really exceptional how many different languages we have here at North Central,” Barthel said.

From the outside, there are a boatload of differences between Cathedral and NC. One is private and one is public, one is large and one is small and one is known for diversity and one, simply put, is not. Barthel, having worked at both high schools for a considerable amount of time, provides a different perspective. 

“Cathedral and North Central are actually more similar than they are different,” Barthel said. “People are proud to be associated with both schools. They are both prestigious educational institutions in the city of Indianapolis, and the shift from one to the other seems like it would be easier than most would initially think.”