Above: Mr. Spoon (center) stands outside of the school with (left to right) students Faith Igbinovia, Will Ferris, Paloma Zampieri and Bao Tin Tran.
He will take a pie in the face. He’ll run down Fayetteville Street in a turkey costume. And he’s down to let someone else pick the paint color for his office. There’s a small catch, though. The school Turkey Trot is not only physical education, but a fundraiser. And so is the wall color choice, which is up for grabs to the highest bidder at the school gala.
That’s how it goes with Cathedral School’s principal, Graham Witherspoon, or “Mr. Spoon” as he’s known at the downtown Raleigh Catholic school.
Witherspoon, 48, became a first-time principal in April 2025 and has already guided a 24% increase in enrollment. While the school represents a first for him, he represents a first for the school, too. He’s the first Black principal of Cathedral School and its first male principal.
A graduate of Catholic schools in northwestern Pennsylvania, Witherspoon graduated from Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York. He taught at schools in Virginia and North Carolina before becoming a City of Raleigh police officer, a responsibility he held for 13 years. He decided to return to education and was assistant principal at Our Lady of Lourdes School for a year and a half before his move to Cathedral School.
While the increase in enrollment is nice, his main goal is to help create an environment with certain values.
“I used to dream of an avenue just to immerse kids in a culture,” he said. “I’d imagine if I was in that seat.”
Today he has the principal's seat, but he can usually be found standing in the school's classrooms, hallways and sports venues. Witherspoon also parks in the teacher’s lot, something teacher Barbara Hannon, who has taught in the diocese for 27 years, noticed on his first day. Hannon appreciates the team culture and Witherspoon’s availability for consultation so much that she’s delaying her planned retirement one year because “everyone at work is happy, and it just makes it this great atmosphere. On the days that you get discouraged you know that there’s someone there to say, ‘You know? You got to take the long journey.’”
Monsignor David Brockman, pastor, said he felt that Witherspoon could greatly help the school assist parents in the Catholic education and formation of their children.
“Mr. Spoon is a joyful person in a way that’s infectious to others, yet also highly intuitive to spot when a student or faculty member needs extra attention, encouragement or even a challenge,” said Monsignor.
Witherspoon is known for asking those around him to "roll" with his plan and energetically replying to what they say with "10-4," the police code for "message received."
For him, the culture is one of character and a constant evolution of getting better with no end goal. It’s about how students walk into a room, how they talk in the hallway and how they behave at Mass, he said. Moreover, it’s about students working with intentionality and earning what they have, such as the coats and ties they wear and the ceremony that accompanies them. Those were earned by attending a life skills type of lesson with Witherspoon.
In short, it’s about not stopping. “You don’t get time back. So why not go for it?” he smiled.
Witherspoon “went for it” within weeks of starting his new job. With David Heinske, director of facilities, Francisco Salas, facilities manager, and parent volunteers, he moved the library and art classroom to the nearby St. Monica building on campus and created an area there for supplemental math lessons. He created an area for prayer in the school hall and ordered new lunch tables for the students. Historical photos were moved to the school hall in the basement and posters of current students highlight the top two floors, so the children see themselves and have a feeling of belonging.
For Randy Kilgore, a Cathedral School parent, Witherspoon leads by example. “He spent all summer reorganizing the school’s available space,” said Kilgore. “I’m sure he would have carried in and put together all of those new tables on his own and never complained. Yet, because he’s out in front, he inspires everyone else to get involved.”
Heinske added that “the kids absolutely love him … He has been able to get the students excited about … volunteer activities. Graham has leveraged social media in a most positive way to establish relationships with local business leaders, who have volunteered to come into school and provide talks on various topics.”
Witherspoon said Catholic schools taught him how to work with a purpose and know who he was. Those around him say he has a competitive spirit, which he likely gained from years as a student-athlete playing basketball. (Ask him about his high school championship game and opponent Kobe Bryant.)
His perseverance can be traced, in large part, to his family, which includes his wife and their three children — Rylee, 18, Taylor, 17, and Gabe, 10. When Gabe was born with cerebral palsy, the family began to navigate the unknown, which included eye and hip surgery. They watched him work for three years to sip out of a straw.
“He’s literally pure joy. Gabe enjoys everything … he loves the marching band,” Witherspoon smiled, noting that the blessing is his daughter is in that band. “He allows us to enjoy the little things, and he teaches us not everything is that serious.”
His experience as a father has helped him as a principal interacting with parents and students. Witherspoon said he hopes Cathedral School students will graduate with a strong sense of purpose and identity. “I want them to leave here comfortable knowing who they are and loving themselves,” he said. “I hope that they know in good times and bad times, Jesus is always there. The man upstairs is never going to leave you.”
Editor’s note: A shorter version of this story, featuring different photos, was shared in January during Catholic Schools week.
Photos
