Students Explore Teaching at Second Catholic Schools Expo

Representatives from Catholic schools up and down the East Coast came to Thomas Aquinas College, New England, on April 1, hoping to recruit future teachers from the school that Thomas Carroll, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Boston, has called “the gift that keeps on giving.”

For the first half hour, juniors, seniors, and the guests mingled in the Bl. Frassati Student Center, asking questions and picking up information packets, before gathering for a panel presentation. Student Support Coordinator Emily Sullivan then introduced the panel before handing the reins over to the day’s speakers. The panelists represented numerous schools, both from elsewhere in New England, such as St. Mary’s in Westfield, Massachusetts, and St. Michael’s in Brattleboro, Vermont, and from further afield, including Seton Education Partners in New York City and Mater Christi Parish School in Albany.

The panelists elaborated what they looked for in a teacher. “Teaching is a perennial craft,” said William Bertain (’08), assistant headmaster at the St. Jerome Institute in Washington, D.C. “We want our teachers to continue to grow, both in knowledge and in their pedagogy. We want people who love the Great Books and recognize the value of what you all are learning.”

After the panel, students and panelists made their way upstairs for pizza, where the panelists learned more about the College, and students asked questions about the visitors’ institutions. “I think what you are doing here is very foundational for teaching at a classical school,” said Michael Casey, founder of the Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope in Providence, Rhode Island. “I’m amazed at your willingness and ability to teach any subject. That’s an exceptional skill to have.”