Michael C. Burke

In 2019 Michael C. Burke was named Head of School at San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno following a national search.  Burke most recently served as President of Melbourne Central Catholic High School (MCC) in Melbourne, Florida for the past nine years.

Burke has spent more than 35 years working in the Catholic school profession as an administrator, teacher and coach. In addition to his leadership role at MCC, Burke served as Headmaster of Subiaco Academy, a boys Catholic Benedictine boarding school located in Subiaco, Arkansas; President of St. Joseph Catholic School System in Bryan, Texas; and founder of two Catholic high schools in Alabama, St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman and Holy Spirit in Tuscaloosa, where he served as their first administrators.

Burke’s visionary leadership skills have led to the implementation of a variety of innovative programs at MCC as well as at other schools where he has served as administrator.  Enrollment sustainability has been one of Burke’s greatest strengths throughout his career in Catholic education.

Selected as one of only two high school presidents in the nation to be awarded the Lead.Learn.Proclaim Award from the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), Burke was recognized for his outstanding leadership efforts, contributions and achievements at the 2016 NCEA Convention in San Diego.  He was also a presenter at the convention on the topic “Building a Sustainable Enrollment Management Program.”

Burke has also been a regular contributor to NCEA’s quarterly Momentum magazine.
In his first two years at MCC, Burke was able to identify the school’s strengths and weaknesses. By doing so, he developed a strategic plan that aligned with the long range goals of the school.  With his keen analytical abilities and excellent communication skills, he was able to motivate his team and forge relationships with parish and community leaders that led to the turnaround of MCC.

Burke’s first priority at MCC was to strengthen its Catholic identity. He reached out to the local parishes and welcomed the pastors and church communities to the MCC community.  Burke encouraged students to grow in their faith by creating an environment where students could engage in their faith through their daily actions.  He strengthened the campus ministry program and introduced a school wide community service day where all students went out into the community to volunteer and complete service hours.

His other accomplishments at MCC included introducing a global initiative to the campus welcoming students from all over the world through a host family program; and forging a partnership exchange program with Aquinas School in Belfast, Northern Ireland allowing 24 students from MCC to visit and stay in homes of students while in Ireland, and then the Irish students reciprocated by visiting the United States and staying with student families in Florida.  This partnership gave students a true taste of the culture in another country that would not have been possible without this relationship.