Today, Superintendent of Schools in the Archdiocese of New York Michael J. Deegan sent the following message to our Teachers on this day, marking Teachers Appreciation Day:

The Year of St. Joseph

Dear Valued Teachers,

I understand you were recognized for your work during Catholic Schools Week and there is indeed a national Teachers Appreciation Week in the spring.  But where you are all concerned, there can never be too much gratitude expressed. When Cardinal Dolan heard I had declared today our very own Catholic School Teacher Appreciation Day, His Eminence insisted on recording this special video message just for you:

I often reference my own decades in Catholic education when discussing the unique vocation of teaching in Catholic schools, but that calling has taken on an entirely new dimension over the past calendar year. Around the nation, as parents clamor for in-person learning to resume, the secret is out: Look at the Catholic schools, their teachers show up!  Of course, you do. You always show up; always have, always will. Since this time last year, you haven’t just shown up, you have answered the bell. Just when the world was on its heels in a once-in-a-century crisis -including your own families- you learned how to teach all over again, this time from your dining room, your garage, your kitchen. You answered the bell and showed up for students and helped them find some normalcy in unfamiliar scary circumstances and finish the school year.

This September, we needed you to come back to the buildings to teach in person. You came out of your homes refreshed and ready to fight a few more rounds against this invisible foe, and fight you did. You masked up and you showed up for your students and in doing so, you placed our schools front and center in the national spotlight, showing the country that schools can be open and children can learn safely in person.

I chose this day, March 3 to honor all of you – our cherished Catholic educators – because it is the feast day of St. Katherine Drexel, a woman of great means who walked away from a wealthy comfortable existence to answer a calling to religious life. St. Katherine dedicated her life to the education of African-American and Native Americans; in the late 19th century, something truly selfless and certainly a mission not without peril.

Something tells me St. Katherine Drexel has been watching over each of you and has been very impressed by what she has seen. I’m also quite sure she is grateful for your carrying on her legacy of selflessness regardless of the peril.

You are each so treasured and very much appreciated. Thank you and enjoy your day!

Sincerely,

Mr. Michael J. Deegan
Superintendent of Schools
Archdiocese of New York