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<\/p>\nBy Jay Sorgi \u2022 Posted December 17, 2025 <\/p>\n
Teaching in Catholic education is a God-given vocation for those who make it their life\u2019s work. Sixteen people who have fulfilled that mission for a quarter-century, and one for a half-century, will receive the Archdiocese of Philadelphia High School and Special Education Service Award.<\/p>\n
Eleven teachers and five administrators are celebrating 25 years within schools of the Catholic Church of Philadelphia, while one teacher \u2014 David Schafer from St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls \u2014 is marking 50 years of service.<\/p>\n
Their dedication honors the legacy of St. John Neumann, who started the first diocesan school system in 1852 during his tenure as bishop of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt truly brings to life the mission of Catholic education,\u201d said Steve Clement, the chief administrative officer in the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings to life what I\u2019d like to believe Bishop Neumann was thinking about when he created the first Catholic school system, that people who believe truly in God would work through his mission and provide it back to the young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joseph McFadden was one of those young people. A 1997 graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia, he recognized within his own teachers an example for his eventual calling that has led to 25 years at Ryan, including his current role as principal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve now spent 29 of the last 33 years of my life in this building,\u201d said McFadden, who estimates his presence has touched about 2,000 young people in his years at Archbishop Ryan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur families here at Ryan, it might be the third, fourth kid who is coming through. I\u2019m now getting kids of people I went to school with, and now I\u2019m getting kids of students that I taught in my earlier years who are now coming into Ryan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly gives pause,\u201d he added. \u201cYou have a good relationship with the families where they know where we\u2019re coming from. They know what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
William Brannick, Superintendent of Secondary Schools and Schools of Special Education for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, poses with Archbishop Wood High School teacher Martha Dugan Nov. 19 during a presentation of the Archdiocesan High School and Special Education Service Awards. Dugan was recognized for 25 years of service in Catholic education. (Photo: Archbishop Wood High School)<\/p>\n
That consistency of the Catholic faith and the mission of care for the entire person has led Terri Borusiewicz to a 35-year career in teaching, with the last 25 years at Cardinal O\u2019Hara High School in Springfield. She is currently the English Department chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, this is my dream job. I have never wanted to be anything but a teacher,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to talk about English all day long is wonderful. I love the fact that I\u2019m able to talk about morality and faith, and not just have to be secular about things. We can talk about real things. And it makes me feel like I\u2019m doing a little more than just teaching English.\u201d<\/p>\n
One example of her impact, and the kind of ethos Catholic schools provide, involves a moment outside the classroom that became an ultimate expression of her God-given mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did have an instance just this year where a girl was very distraught. I\u2019ve never seen a child cry as hard,\u201d Borusiewicz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took her down to counseling and she kept saying to me, \u2018I\u2019m sorry. I know you\u2019re so busy.\u2019 And I just said to her, \u2018I have no place else more important to be than right here with you. You\u2019re the most important thing right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Clement believes that kind of calling, in which relationships with young people become a canvas upon which to paint God\u2019s love, doesn\u2019t just impact young people and possibly change their lives. It also shows them what their own life can become.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think of the generations today and folks that are changing jobs every year, two years or three years, to see folks in it for 25 years in mission-driven work, it truly gives opportunity for the youth to see that there\u2019s a career in doing this work and there\u2019s a true gift in being able to provide this back to the next generation,\u201d said Clement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a rewarding piece to this, and we hope that (as leaders) we can provide that opportunity for growth, that you can start as that Catholic teacher and maybe work your way through that opportunity to become a Catholic administrator or a Catholic leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the kind of calling Borusiewicz and McFadden both recognize comes from God, one for which they have immense gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am beyond appreciative that this is where God saw me and saw my journey as a teacher. Not everybody gets to spend 10 years, 25 years, and if I\u2019m lucky, another 25 years here. I\u2019ve built the start of my career here and I think I\u2019m at the point where I\u2019d like to work at where I would end it here,\u201d said McFadden.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been my home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Borusiewicz, who graduated from Archbishop Kennedy High School in Conshohocken, now a legacy of Pope John Paul II High School, is forever thankful that she returned to teaching in Catholic schools after taking a year off to be a full-time mom to her first son.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really think God works in mysterious ways,\u201d said Borusiewicz. \u201cI\u2019m where I was meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following are the recipients of AOP High School and Special Education Service Awards for the 2025-2026 academic year:<\/p>\n
Archbishop Ryan High School
\u2013 Ellen Luby, teacher, 25 years
\u2013 Joseph McFadden, principal, 25 years<\/p>\n
Archbishop Wood High School
\u2013 Martha Dugan, teacher, 25 years
\u2013 Don Mangin, assistant principal, 25 years<\/p>\n
Bishop Shanahan High School
\u2013 Loretta DePedro, administrative assistant, 25 years<\/p>\n
Cardinal O\u2019Hara High School
\u2013 Terri Borusiewicz, teacher, 25 years<\/p>\n
Father Judge High School
\u2013 Melissa Costello, teacher, 25 years
\u2013 Catherine Jelencovich, assistant, president\u2019s office, 25 years<\/p>\n
Lansdale Catholic High School
\u2013 Karl Stout, teacher, 25 years
\u2013 James Timer, teacher, 25 years<\/p>\n
Msgr. Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School
\u2013 Mary Kelly, administration, 25 years<\/p>\n
Our Lady of Confidence School
\u2013 Carole Bergiven, teacher, 25 years<\/p>\n
Pope John Paul II High School
\u2013 Ralph Riendeau, teacher, 25 years
\u2013 Mary Fran Traywick, teacher, 25 years<\/p>\n
St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls
\u2013 Maria Sawick, teacher, 25 years
\u2013 David Schafer, teacher, 50 years<\/p>\n
St. Lucy School for Children with Visual Impairments
\u2013 Amy Murphy, teacher, 25 years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jay Sorgi \u2022 Posted December 17, 2025 Teaching in Catholic education is a God-given vocation for those…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21628,8364,69,71,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-63748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-aops","9":"tag-jay-sorgi","10":"tag-philadelphia","11":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","12":"tag-philadelphia-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}