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Deborah Farrington, Mary McKeever, Angela Hadsell, Jessica Patti, Robert Pheatt
Valerie Mattei, David Gallagher, Sarah Currier, George V. Fornero, Melinda Lawlor Skrade
August 23, 2018
Tom Burke
Elementary school principals
Deborah Farrington
Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Redwood City
Deborah Farrington is delighted to continue her career as the principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School. She spent the last 17 years at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton as a global studies and math teacher and founding director of Global Education, building an international student exchange program. She holds a doctorate in education, focusing on human rights education, from University of San Francisco, as well as degrees from Stanford and Harvard. Farrington recently walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain and shared that she “hopes to bring the joy of faith, learning, service, community, and personal growth to OLMC.”
Mary McKeever
St. Philip School, San Francisco
I have been teaching in Catholic schools for 26 years, the last 11 of which have been at St. Philip the Apostle School. There, I taught fifth Grade, and, for the past two years, was vice-principal.
Growing up in a Catholic family in Ireland, faith was always central to our lives. We were taught the importance of values such as kindness and respect. These values were reinforced in the Catholic schools I attended. For me, there was never a discrepancy between what was passed down at home, and what was instilled in us at school. Today, I see those same values being taught in Catholic school. And I see the influence these have on our children, as we teach them to navigate their way through challenges and the pressures of growing up in a world that is not perfect. I believe that Catholic schools nurture our young people into becoming their best selves, and people of compassion and love.
Angela Hadsell
St. Patrick School, Larkspur
Angela Hadsell, a product of lifelong Catholic education, has worked at St. Patrick School for the past 20 years. She began her career as a teacher’s aide and upon receiving her credential and masters in education from the University of San Francisco, taught first grade for six years and then taught math at both elementary and junior high levels for the past 11 years. “Community is the heart of Catholic schools,” she said. “I feel blessed to be the principal of St. Patrick School, where parents, teachers, students, and the parish community live out their faith and show compassion for one another. We are a community committed to faith and excellence, using the gifts and talents that God has given our students to guide them in developing 21st-century skills of innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving.”
Jessica Patti
Nativity School, Menlo Park
I am entering my 19th year in education and hold a masters of education in school leadership from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in anthropology and English from Tulane University.
I have taught and served as dean of students at schools in California and Texas. I chose to be an educator to aid students in being curious, engaged, creative, passionate, and independent. I want to instill in my students a love of learning, strength of character, and respect for their environment. The purpose of a Catholic Education is to educate students to become exceptional servant-leaders who love God and serve others for a public, moral purpose while immersing students in a joyful, engaging scholastic environment that encourages empathy and compassion through the theology and social teachings of the Catholic Church. By cultivating young people of faith who are thoughtful and inquisitive in their practice, we reinforce the interdependence necessary for exceptional leadership and powerful social change.
Robert Pheatt
St. Isabella School, San Rafael
Robert Pheatt, in addition to being an alumnus of St. Isabella School, has been working there for the past 15 years. He completed his undergraduate studies at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas and received his credential and masters at Dominican University of California in San Rafael. He has spent 33 years of his life as a student and educator in Catholic Schools. He is looking forward to “continuing to work in such a fabulous faith community and continuing the academic excellence that St. Isabella prides itself on” and he “feels so fortunate to be a part of a faculty and staff that are one of the best around.”
Valerie Mattei
St. Raymond School, Menlo Park
I have been an educator for 12 years, and served the St. Raymond’s community as the first grade teacher, student council moderator, and director of Campus Life. I hold an undergraduate degree in English from Sacramento State, a multiple subject teaching credential, and a graduate degree in school administration from Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont. Education was a natural choice. My mother has been a Catholic educator for over 30 years, and I was always fond of helping in her classroom. The driving force in Catholic education is answering the call to serve. By serving others our Church family actively develops empathy, gratitude, and a respect for all people. Catholic educators model Jesus’ teachings and help create a community of dedicated stewards living out our faith in our everyday interactions.
David Gallagher
Star of the Sea School, San Francisco
I have been an educator who has been dedicated to student achievement for over 20 years. I began my educational career teaching English in a public high school, then spent 16 years teaching students in the Archdiocese of San Francisco at the middle school level. For the last five years, in addition to serving as the eighth grade homeroom teacher, I have also been supporting students, families, and educational professionals as the assistant principal in charge of testing and student activities. I have a bachelor of speech communication from San Francisco State University and a masters of educational administration from National University in La Jolla. I believe that all students are capable of learning at the highest level possible and Star of the Sea’s educational system will provide our students with the skills needed to be successful in our global economy.
Sarah Currier
Ecole Notre Dame des Victoires, San Francisco
Sarah Currier has served as a teacher in Catholic schools for 11 years and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in educational leadership from the University of Notre Dame. Throughout her career, she has helped to improve Catholic identity within schools, written course curriculum, and has helped to develop a wide range of programs from diagnostic tracking systems for students, to programs that aim to empower parents as the primary educators of their children. She is looking forward to being able to use the gifts God has given her in order to further the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange and the Marist Fathers as she serves Ecole Notre Dame des Victoires.
Secondary schools
George V. Fornero, principal,
ICA Cristo Rey, San Francisco
George Fornero holds a postgraduate degree in education from Loyola University, Chicago. He has served as chief academic officer of Chicago’s Cristo Rey Network, and superintendent of schools in Highland, Illinois and Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has also held additional educational leadership posts in Illinois and Michigan. He holds administrative certification in states including Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey and Michigan.
Melinda Lawlor Skrade, president,
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco
Melinda Lawlor Skrade holds a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from Marquette University where she also completed undergraduate and graduate work.
Her experience includes 20 years of service as an instructor at the high school, college and graduate levels with more than a decade of service as president at Pius XI Catholic High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “My family comes from an Irish immigrant past and the value of Catholic education was emphasized as lifelong, transformative, and part of your formation in service as a leader in the lives of others,” she told Catholic San Francisco. “As Catholic School leaders, we must be dedicated to making Catholic education as affordable as possible for the students and families. I believe that Catholic education should be innovative and immediately transferable to life opportunities.”