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Two educators mark 40 years in Catholic; enjoy students’ ‘spark of understanding’
During Catholic Schools Week, two educators will be honored for four decades of service to Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Denver.
By Julie Filby
Kathryn McNamee
St. Mary’s Academy High School, Englewood
During nearly 45 years in Catholic education overall—the last 14 as principal at St. Mary’s Academy High School in Englewood—Kathryn McNamee has made it a priority to prepare young people for the future.
“(We’re) really trying to create a curriculum, and an experience for the students, that ensures that they have what they need,” she said. “Not just to do well in college, but to do well in the world.”
McNamee, a native of El Paso, Texas, first arrived at St. Mary’s Academy in 1970. Through her years of service there, she has taught English in the middle school, and been a counselor in the middle and high schools. She also taught at St. Mary School in Littleton for three years, and a girls’ school in Santa Clara, Calif., for two years. Today, in addition to being principal, she teaches psychology at the high school.
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Photo by James Baca/DCR |
Many of the graduates from the all-girls’ high school have gone on to “make a difference,” by joining the Peace Corps, and serving as doctors and teachers.
“We have a lot of girls that want to go out and make a difference in the world,” she said. “We hope that the experience here at St. Mary’s Academy provides the skills and inspiration to do that.”
To help develop students’ values, McNamee places an emphasis on service to people in need. Students are required to accomplish a minimum of 100 hours of community service during high school.
“We do a lot with community service here,” she said. “That creates the notion of wanting to make sure that what you are doing in the world is helping other people that are less fortunate … (and) following Gospel values.”
McNamee was formerly a religious Sister of Loretto, the religious order that founded the school in 1864. She attended Loretto Academy in El Paso, holds a bachelor’s degree from Loretto Heights University in Denver, and a master’s degree from University of Colorado at Denver.
Her pride in the students is unmistakable.
“Here at St. Mary’s Academy, these girls are just fabulous,” she said. “They want to learn; they want to work hard; they want to challenge themselves.”
Elaine Tucker
St. Francis de Sales School, Denver
Elaine Tucker, a teacher at St. Francis de Sales School in Denver since 1982, considers herself a natural-born teacher. It’s a quality she’s made the most of since launching her career in education 40 years ago.
“I was originally looking for a position teaching high-school English,” she said. “(But) I’m a teacher!
“I know how to teach,” she added. “It doesn’t matter what I teach.”
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Photo by James Baca/DCR |
Tucker currently teaches seventh- and eighth-grade literature, math and religion; and eighth-grade science. She also coordinates the school’s speech program, Math Counts club and Spanish club.
“Sponsoring clubs is an activity I enjoy and I’ve done a lot of,” she said. “Newspaper, Math Counts, science, Spanish and speech.”
Tucker, a native of Iowa, holds a degree from Marymount College in Salina, Kan., and has completed many hours toward a master’s degree. She began teaching in the Denver Archdiocese in 1972. In addition to 30 years at St. Francis de Sales, she also taught at Cur d’Ars School in Denver, which closed in 1974, and St. Thérèse in Aurora—from fourth through eighth grades.
“I’ve taught every subject over the years,” she said. “Even PE and art.”
Tucker’s two children—now grown and both in the process of obtaining a doctorate of philosophy degree—were her students at St. Francis.
“I taught my own children here,” she said. “We have a good school; they got a really good basic education here.”
Due to the length of her tenure, she is now teaching children of her former students. She recognizes and appreciates the alumni’s confidence in their alma mater.
“For them (former students) to put their kids back in St. Francis,” she said, “that means we’re doing something right here.”
She remains eager to share her love of learning with young people.
“I like to learn; that’s my favorite thing of all: to learn,” she said. “I just like to get kids to learn all they can.”
That enthusiasm has kept her going strong through the years.
“What keeps me going year after year are those moments when I see that spark of understanding,” she said. “When a child ‘gets’ a concept.”
When asked about the rewards of being a teacher, she responded sentimentally: “Well honestly, I really enjoy having my former students come back and visit me.”
In looking back on her decades of teaching she said, “It seems to have gone by fast.”
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