During the Jan. 30 liturgy to celebrate National Catholic Schools Week, the Archdiocese of Louisville presented awards to two educators and a volunteer. The winner of the Father Joseph McGee Award for Outstanding Catholic Educator, presented by the Catholic Education Foundation, was also announced at the Mass.
Suzanne Barnett, principal of St. Martha School, was awarded the Distinguished Catholic School Leader Award. The award “recognizes the gifts of a Catholic school leader to Lead, Learn and Proclaim,” according to the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Catholic Schools.
In nominating Barnett, the St. Martha community called prayer a vital part of her daily routine and decision-making process.
“Supporting teachers with their teaching and learning and ensuring students’ success is Suzanne’s passion,” the nomination said. “In the five years she has been principal, she has approached her leadership role as a collaborative effort, knowing that ‘we is greater than me.’ With that in mind, she has strengthened and expanded the Leadership Team by seeing the greatness in people beyond what they even thought they could do.”
Barnett created the Shamrock Servant Leadership Program, built on the seven themes of Catholic social teaching, intending to prioritize service to others and to foster shared responsibility as contributing members of our global society, the nomination said.
Tony Kemper, director of learning support at St. Xavier High School, is receiving the Irene Casey Catholic Inclusion Award. The award honors the spirit of Irene Casey, an elementary school teacher dedicated to meeting “the diverse learning needs of students in Catholic education,” according to the Office of Catholic Schools.
Kemper was instrumental in developing and opening the school’s Learning Support Center, according to his nomination. Much of his time is spent collaborating with teachers, counselors, parents and students and he regularly communicates with the College Board to ensure students receive the accommodations they need.
“Tony arrives extra early each morning to make sure we are well prepared to serve those young men,” his nomination said. “He is in constant communication with parents whose sons may need learning accommodations. He just wants to make sure our boys ‘have what they need.’ To him, it’s not an accommodation, it’s a necessity.”
Sharon Delaney, who serves at St. Augustine School in Lebanon, Ky., has been named the Outstanding School Volunteer.
Delaney has volunteered several days a week at St. Augustine for 10 years. She started when her grandson was in second grade and he’s now a senior in high school.
“She continuously exemplifies to the students how to be a follower of Christ. I have had occurrences of kids not being kind and she jumps right in to offer advice to those students and talk with them about how they could have made a better choice,” her nomination said.
Julie Domzalski, who teaches at St. Margaret Mary School, has been named the Father Joseph McGee Outstanding Catholic Educator. The award will be presented by the Catholic Education Foundation at its Salute to Catholic School Alumni on March 5.
The award was established in 1988 to “commemorate Father McGee’s lifetime commitment to Catholic education. It is presented to a teacher who exemplifies this deep dedication to Catholic schools,” according to the Catholic Education Foundation.
Domzalski has been a teacher for more than three decades.
“For over 32 years, Julie’s genuine care and love for her students and their families has made her the amazing teacher that she is,” the nomination for the award said.
Domzalski, a Sacred Heart Academy and Bellarmine University graduate, began teaching first grade at St. Edward School before returning to her alma mater, St. Margaret Mary, in 2012.
