Before Dr. Benjamin Horton faced dozens of parents, students and faculty at Bishop Brady’s meet-the-principal event on Wednesday night, he sat in his office — which he has not yet finished unpacking — and thought about the future.
“This place is going to just take off and really thrive,” he said. “I have energy. I have a lot of ideas.”
The New Hampshire native is no stranger to Catholic schools: he has attended four different ones in his life. Under the Diocese of Manchester, he attended St. Catherine of Siena School and St. Joseph Jr. High School. He ran track and cross-country at Saint Anselm College, where he studied history. Then, he earned his Master’s of Education from the University of Notre Dame.
“I’ve always enjoyed learning. As a kid, I was … I wouldn’t say I struggled in school, but I might say the school environment was maybe not always…” he trailed off. “I had a very curious mind as a kid, and I always had questions.”
That childhood curiosity was nurtured with individualized instruction during his Catholic schooling. As he considered his career aspirations in high school and college, he returned to one question: where could he make the biggest impact?
“I always kept coming back to education,” said Horton, who holds a Ph.D. in education administration from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining Bishop Brady as its new principal, he served as assistant academic dean at Saint Anselm and taught at Catholic schools in Tampa, Fla. and Belfast, Northern Ireland. “It’s such a rich opportunity to help students become better versions of themselves.”
More specifically, it had to be Catholic education. At his time in Manchester diocesan schools, it felt like students were the foremost priority. There was something special about that Catholic school environment that drew him back in.
As a teacher, he gravitated toward history and language arts. Writing pedagogy, in particular, felt especially important for student success.
“When students can write well, it’s reflective of the fact that they can think well,” he said. “When we train students how to write well, we not only hone those skills, but we look at how their mind works.”
To kick off his tenure at Bishop Brady, Horton began working with curriculum coordinators on a new project: a school-wide interdisciplinary program centered on America’s 250th. Students across grade levels will share common reads, attend events and go on field trips around New England.
“The overarching theme is what we call life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said. “Basically, we’re looking at those different aspects of the Declaration and relating them to different themes each month.”
According to Horton, the goal is to get the school talking — parents, students and faculty alike. The Bishop Brady community should share in the same academic discussion in the classroom and at home.
He stepped into the role of principal following the retirement of Andrea Elliott, who had held the title for 12 years prior.
The school’s “elite outcomes” also fill Horton with optimism. With students from the class of 2026 heading to Harvard, Penn, Notre Dame, Northeastern, NYU and Carnegie Mellon, he sees the capacity for high achievement.
“I see really dedicated faculty, and a community of parents and families who really care. I see commitment to the values of Catholic education,” he said. “Those are all things that make me say, ‘Okay, we have all this great potential. Let’s grow it, let’s make it better, let’s continue to improve those outcomes.’”
Looking back at his own Catholic education, one of the only shortcomings was the lack of school resources. At Bishop Brady, he plans to manage them better.
“This is where I think my business background will serve us well: stewarding those resources well,” he said. “We’ve been working over the past few months on a really strong development plan.”
His other priorities include alumni outreach and mentorship opportunities, infrastructure updates and hearing out ideas from long-time faculty who “really care about this place.”
On Wednesday night, Horton shook hands with dozens of people who gathered to meet the new principal in Bishop Brady’s library. He gave a short speech about his own family’s commitment to Catholic education: even through financial hardship, his grandparents still made it a priority to send six children to Catholic school.
“They saw that vision, and they saw that purpose. That’s why I’m here,” he said, his voice breaking on the last sentence.
The community received him well. Rising senior David Cameron said that when he met Horton, the principal seemed earnestly interested in getting to know him and his future plans.
“It didn’t seem cliché,” Cameron said.
Sara Smith, the school’s campus minister, spoke on behalf of her colleagues.
“The school is just really excited for somebody to come in with new and fresh ideas,” she said.
