Written by Mary Beth Peabody
It’s 5:30 a.m. on a brisk May morning, the day Resurrection Catholic School eighth graders won’t be boarding the bus for their coveted class trip to New York City. Instead, they will remain tethered to their homes, trying to ride out the isolation of the coronavirus pandemic.
Molly Webb, principal at the Cherry Hill school, travels across the empty Ben Franklin Bridge. Dressed in sweat pants and a baseball cap, she arrives at the iconic “Rocky” steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her husband, Kevin, films several takes as she makes the famous run to the top with Murphy, her golden retriever. There, she greets the Resurrection community and acknowledges the eighth graders.
“We can’t give them New York City, but we can give them hope,” she says. And then she speaks directly to the class of 2020: “I can promise you, hope makes a difference. Many years ago, I struggled with keeping my hope alive when everything seemed to be going wrong. I kept this poem in my wallet. It’s called ‘Don’t Quit.’”
Without notes or hesitation, Webb recites all 25 lines and continues with her own words of love and encouragement. “No one can take away the heart and soul of this class. You are the Rocky class,” she tells them.
The art museum YouTube is just one of Webb’s daily creations over three months of remote learning — sometimes in costume, often with Murphy, and always with prayer and intention.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned, in this position [of principal] in particular, it’s a job where you need to be present,” said Webb. “When people come to me … it’s usually something that’s hard for them to handle.” She said this is true with parents, teachers and students. “I don’t have all the answers all the time. That’s humbling.”
A former first grade teacher at Resurrection and an active parishioner at host parish Christ Our Light, Webb accepted an invitation to serve on the principal search committee in 2016. And then came the call from Father Tom Newton, pastor at the time, asking her if she would think about the position herself. She decided to apply and presented her vision for the school, which included a heavy emphasis on building community.
While Webb believes that has happened, she is quick to say, “It took all of us.” She credits the community for its response to the school shutdown in March.
“Remote learning could have been such a division, yet we just kind of all shared in the emotion of it,” she said. She acknowledged that while some parents were overwhelmed, they knew they could reach out. She added that many parents jumped in to help, especially with technology.
“We just showed up for each other,” she said.
Before returning to Resurrection as principal, Webb spent four years as a fifth grade teacher in a public school — a career leg that helped prepare her to be a school leader. Otherwise, her experience has been “all Catholic.”
“My mom raised four kids on her own. The fact that we were able to go to Catholic school was really the gift of the monsignor at the time,” said Webb, who grew up in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. She describes herself as a hard worker who always loved learning, despite a difficult start with reading. By the time she was in middle school, Webb had overcome her learning challenge and moved to accelerated classes, where she remained throughout high school. She is still an avid reader.
An education major at Saint Joseph University, Webb never had any doubt she would work with children. Although she considered pediatric medicine, she knows she made the right choice.
“I understand what it’s like to not learn easily, so I always felt like that was my gift,” she said. “My faith gave me hope, and I think that hope has lasted with me in everything else I do. I help kids see there is hope.”
Webb has four children of her own, all in their 20s. Like so many families, COVID brought them all under one roof again. Although she admits to tight quarters in “the bungalow,” she said she loves their presence, conversations and family dinners, “the little things.” Like her peers in other schools, Webb has immersed herself in reopening plans, so vacation was not part of her family’s summer equation.
“I’ve been really careful about not going anywhere because I don’t want to do anything that could compromise [the school],” she said.
With health and safety guidelines firmly in place, Webb is ready for the doors to reopen and eager to bring new forms of fun and creativity to classrooms.
“There are countless ways to make something that seems hard not hard,” she said. To that point, Webb asked all her teachers, whom she sees as the true heroes of the pandemic shutdown, to watch “Life is Beautiful,” the fictional account of a father who uses love and imagination to distract his son from the realities of confinement in a concentration camp.
“Teachers do that all the time. We find ways for kids to feel positive and unafraid.”
Several new families are joining the Resurrection community, where Webb hopes all will find a sense of peace and normalcy in the new school year. The theme for 2020-21 is “One,” a reflection of unity inspired by Ephesians 4:1-6. “We’re responsible for taking care of each other, because you take care of the people you love,” she said.