Walking into her office at St. John's Catholic School, you'd think Nancy Jordan has been the principal for years. The walls are covered in colorful posters made for her by school children. The bookshelf is jam-packed full of curriculum books. But looks can deceive.

On Aug. 17, when the St. John's school year began, Jordan was a parent volunteer. On Aug. 18, she became the principal.

Jordan had expressed an interest in school administration, but did not expect to take over the school so suddenly. "My year didn't start off as planned," she said with a smile.

Before moving to Napa six years ago, Jordan worked as an school psychologist in Pleasanton. After the move, she was busy being a graduate student and taking care of her three children, who are students at St. John's.

St. John's school serves pre-K through eighth-grade, with a total of 237 students.

Ray Lamphere started the year as principal. But he left after a single day, for what St. John's leader Father Gordon Kalil said were personal reasons.

Kalil nominated Jordan to be acting principal, but just until they found someone else. The "temporary" job soon evolved into a permanent position.

Although she is pursuing her master's degree in educational leadership, Jordan had no experience in administration.

"I didn't know how intense the job was ... minute by minute there's something," she said.

Despite the odds against her, Jordan accepted the challenge, and according to her colleagues, has done a great job.

"There have been many challenging issues this year as there are in any school year, but with Nancy at the lead we are a better school because of how situations have been handled and decisions have been made," secretary Stephanie Saunders said.

"I couldn't be happier for being provided with Nancy's skills, talents and flexibility," Kalil said. "She stepped in and has done a remarkable job bringing about healing in the community for the difficulties that people were undergoing with such an abrupt change."

In less than a month, St. John's school year will be over. Jordan describes her first year in the position as "wild," and a year where many adjustments had to be made. Amid all of her responsibilities, she no longer has time to clean her home, and had to hire help. But Jordan says her family has been nothing but supportive. Her husband also works in Catholic education, and is currently with the Christian Brothers.

Sink or swim

During her first couple months as principal, Jordan had to deal with a variety of intense issues. The New Year's Eve flood caused thousands of dollars in damage to the school. Two buildings were destroyed, the playground had to be dug up, and the school lost all its picnic tables, which cost $500 each.

"Here I am, brand new, dealing with a natural disaster," Jordan said.

Early into the school year, the state Department of Social Services paid a surprise visit to the school. The department fined St. John's $1,500 for not using their fingerprint forms and told several teachers they weren't qualified to teach.

"I was up every night that week," Jordan said. "They reprimanded us because we didn't operate from a Department of Social Services perspective."

Jordan said that part of what got her through the year was seeking advice. She often called upon classmates, professors and colleagues at other Catholic schools in the area to help her. She also said the school and church community was incredibly supportive.

"This is an extension of my family," Jordan said about the St. John's community.

Next year

Although Jordan was thrown into the position of principal suddenly, she doesn't regret the decision and the life changes it brought.

"I'm here for a reason. This is where I want to be and need to be," she said.

Jordan's plans for next year are ambitious. Part of her mission is to diversify the school campus to reflect the church community. She also wants to build on the school's 93 year history, and plans to invite alumni back to see that their campus is "still alive."

With one year under her belt, Jordan feels confident enough to have an agenda for next year.

"This year's been reactive, I want next year to be proactive," she said.