Nine Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have new principals for the 2019-20 school year. They include the first lay leaders of elementary schools in Frederick and Howard counties, and a new order of women religious providing direction at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Baynesville.
Capsule profiles follow, with information supplied the principals and/or their schools.
Marguerite Conley
Trinity School, Ellicott City
The first lay principal to lead the school since it was established by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1941, Conley brings 30 years of teaching and administrative experience to Trinity.
A graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., she most recently served as executive director of the Consortium of Catholic Academies, a Hyattsville-based union of four inner-city elementary schools of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
“I am blessed and very excited to join the Trinity School community and look forward to working with its outstanding faculty, staff, students, and families,” Conley said in a statement. “Together, inspired by the legacy of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, we will continue to make Trinity School a place where children learn to love learning and nurture them as they strive to achieve their personal best.”
Conley received a Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award in 2006.
Heather Cucuzzella
Immaculate Conception School, Towson
A logical choice to lead Immaculate Conception, Cucuzzella taught mathematics and served in various leadership roles, including assistant principal, at the pre-K-8 institution.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore. Cucuzzella is a parishioner of Immaculate Conception.
Sister Susan Louise Eder, O.S.F.S.
Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Baynesville
A longtime educator, Sister Susan Louise of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales began her ministry teaching the second grade in 1976 and has taught or served in leadership roles at various schools in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Delaware.
In 1998, Sister Susan Louise opened Holy Cross Academy in Fredericksburg, Va., as founding principal, and led the Diocese of Arlington, Va., elementary school to accreditation and, in 2012, a National Blue Ribbon School award. In 2018, the school received a Virginia Purple Star Award for its service to military families.
In a joint statement, Immaculate Heart of Mary pastor Father Michael Carrion and Baltimore Archdiocese Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Donna Hargens said that Sister Susan Louise “creates an atmosphere of academic excellence and of prayer and service.”
Father Carrion noted that the Sisters of Mercy staffed IHM School for many years.
Dr. Kathleen Kilty
Mother Seton School, Emmitsburg
The first layperson to head Mother Seton in more than 200 years, Kilty has served as a teacher or administrator at various schools in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Catholic University in 1992. In addition to studying elementary education, she captained the women’s basketball team. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and, in 2018, a doctorate, also from Catholic University.
Kilty’s career includes five years as head women’s basketball coach at Catholic University. She is a parishioner at St. Gabriel in Washington.
Dan Hallinan, chairman of the Mother Seton School Board, said in a statement that Kilty “will continue to carry on the mission of Mother Seton School originally established by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and administered by the Sisters ever since.”
Hallinan added that the Daughters of Charity will continue as a strong presence at Mother Seton, with sisters serving on the school board and in faculty and administration roles.
Matt Malone
Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Ellicott City
With childhood ties to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Malone has served the parish school as a member of the faculty – teaching science and religion – and as assistant principal. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins.
A statement from Our Lady of Perpetual Help noted that Malone’s “gifts in the classroom as a teacher have made him beloved by our students,” and that as assistant principal he “earned the respect of his fellow teachers,” which resulted in his winning the school’s Teacher of the Year award.
Malone continues to worship at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Rosanna Rensberger
Resurrection-St. Paul School, Ellicott City
Rensberger served Resurrection-St. Paul as assistant principal during the 2018-19 school year. According to her LinkedIn bio, she has 10 years of educational experience in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and, before that, 10 years as an educator in Montgomery County Public Schools.
Rensberger earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a master’s degree from the American College of Education.
Valerie Sandoval
Archbishop Borders School, Highlandtown
Sandoval brings leadership and teaching experience from Tucson, Ariz. – including a total of nearly a dozen years as principal – to Highlandtown’s bilingual school, where her title is “Principal/Directora.”
A parishioner of St. Leo the Great in Little Italy, she has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson and an administrative certificate in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
Anna Shanahan
St. Margaret School, Bel Air
A product of Baltimore Catholic schools, Shanahan was educated at the former St. Stanislaus in Fells Point and at what is now St. Casimir Catholic School in Baltimore, as well as at The Catholic High School of Baltimore.
Professionally, she has served the Baltimore Archdiocese for 19 years, including as a classroom teacher in Baltimore City and assistant principal at St. Margaret. Shanahan has a bachelor’s degree in child psychology and a master’s degree in leadership in teaching, as well as administration and supervision certification.
She worships at St. Margaret Parish.
Dr. Shannon Storch
St. Maria Goretti High School, Hagerstown
With more than 16 years of teaching experience in public and private schools, Storch has recently served as an adjunct professor at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg and as summer school principal for Frederick County Summer Schools.
He was educated in Catholic schools through grade 12. Storch earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, a master’s degree from The George Washington University in Washington, and a doctorate from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
In a statement, St. Maria Goretti High School President Christopher Cosentino highlighted Storch’s “commitment to Catholic education and his background in STEM education,” which he said would be an asset to the school’s Project Lead the Way: Intro to Engineering program.
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