Third-grade teacher Debbie Tucker embodies the mission of Catholic education and is a cornerstone of the St. Rita School community, according to principal Neil Hulsewede.
“Her deep institutional knowledge and unwavering loyalty to St. Rita make her a cornerstone of our community.” And she “actively integrates her faith and professional learning into daily instruction,” wrote Hulsewede in his nomination of Tucker for the 2026 Father Joseph McGee Award for Outstanding Catholic Educator.
The award will be presented to Tucker at the Catholic Education Foundation’s Salute to Catholic School Alumni dinner set for March 10 at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville.
In an interview at St. Rita Feb. 25, Tucker noted that she currently has 23 students in her classroom. Over the last 22 years of teaching at St. Rita, she estimates she’s taught more than 400 students, and she’s been able to “live her faith through them,” she said.
She credited the St. Rita community and her family with her success as a teacher.
“I am grateful to my husband, my son, and my family support system here. It’s awesome,” she said. “I’m very grateful to the Catholic Education Foundation for this honor — it’s huge. And of course, through the center of all of this is our faith, and how strong our faith is to allow this to happen. God is the center of everything I do.”
Tucker said her parents emphasised the importance of a Catholic education and she carried on that tradition when her son Matthew was in school. She said she was certain that the “support and foundation of a Catholic education will last him all his life.”
‘We work together so well in trying to meet the needs of all the kids. Each of them are so different … and you’ve got to try and figure out what they need, and then try to meet that need.’
— Debbie Tucker, third-grade teacher, St. Rita School
The faculty and staff of St. Rita, charged with caring for St. Rita’s 270 students, also received Tucker’s recognition.
“We work together so well in trying to meet the needs of all the kids,” she said. “Each of them are so different … and you’ve got to try and figure out what they need, and then try to meet that need.”
Before going back to school in her 40s to earn a master’s degree in education at the University of Louisville, Tucker said she worked with children at a nonprofit organization. She found herself being called to the classroom in a more “hands-on” way, she said.
“I always wanted to work in a Catholic school because of my faith, and to be able to share my faith with others — that was very important to me,” she noted.
She sees her experience in the St. Rita community as a “full circle.” Her parents were married at St. Rita Church, she was baptized there, and her first year of teaching began there while her son was a sixth grader at the school.
“I love the community,” said Tucker. “We are like a family.”
Before becoming a teacher, Tucker already made a lasting impact on the school. She served as president of St. Rita’s parent-teacher organization in the early 2000s. According to Hulsewede, she “led the major fundraiser that made the school playground a reality — an enduring symbol of her service.”
In his nomination of Tucker, Hulsewede also highlighted her involvement in St. Rita’s “Desk to Pew” initiative, “a program encouraging students’ participation in parish Masses, bridging the school and parish communities.”
During her 22 years of service at St. Rita, the school and church community have changed a lot, she noted.
“We are now 60% Hispanic, which is awesome to be able to serve a community that I didn’t know much about in the beginning,” Tucker said. “Now, I’ve just embraced it and have learned so much from them. I think a diverse community is so important, because we learn from each other.”
Hulsewede lauded Tucker’s proactive approach to this shift in his nomination.
“She has met these changes with compassion, equity, and cultural responsiveness, ensuring that every student is seen and supported,” he said.
Tucker said she’s looking forward to attending the Salute dinner with her fellow St. Rita teachers and noted that “it’s a big honor for all of the teachers here to feel like we could do this together. They’re going to support me, but I want them to see the fun part of this, too, because we get to share it. We’re really excited.”
