Mrs. Tosha Grimmer is the Principal of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish School.

Mrs. Grimmer has been part of the St. Kateri family since 2011 when she joined the St. Kateri School Board.  In 2014 she became the School Board president. In March of 2016 the vacancy for the school principal was announced and after prayerful consideration, she applied.  After an interview process that involved current staff and parents, Catholic School representation, and St. Kateri parish members, Mrs. Grimmer was appointed principal on July 1, 2016. Her family (husband Larry and children Dorothy and Teddy) belongs to St. Kateri Parish and both children attend St. Kateri School (Dorothy graduated from 5th grade in 2018 and Teddy in 2020).

Mrs. Grimmer graduated from Russell Sage College with a B.S. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Early Childhood Education and then completed her Master’s degree at Harvard University School of Education with a concentration in Human Development and Psychology.  She did doctoral work in Curriculum and Instruction at the University at Albany.  She has taught  kindergarten and third grade (both as a classroom teacher and a Math Specialist).  She was the Education Coordinator for a Head Start program in Boston, MA and the National Education Coordinator for Jumpstart, an AmeriCorps program which served preschoolers. For 10 years Mrs. Grimmer taught at The College of Saint Rose in the Teacher Education Department where she helped develop the Early Childhood (birth to grade 2) teacher education program. Mrs. Grimmer directed a summer camp for girls ages 6 to 14 at the Emma Willard School in Troy and served as St. Kateri Parish Faith Formation Director (grades K to 5) from 2014 to 2016. 

Mrs. Grimmer comes from a long line of teachers (on her mother’s side she is the 4th generation of teachers) and loves the learning process. Her vision for St. Kateri School is to nurture knowledge and faith with both students and faculty. She particularly admires St. Mother Teresa and tries to live this motto: There are no great things, only small things with great love.