Denver Catholic

42 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2025 | DENVER CATHOLIC A neighbor of the family mentioned to Hilary that her child had been behind in some academics at their public school and that St. John was able to get him caught up. She encouraged Hilary to speak to the school again, this time with the new principal, Julie Rossi. Rossi's immediate willingness to enroll both Brody and Weston was met with the question of staffing. Who would help support academic growth for Brody? Enter Deacon August Cordova and Mrs. Regina Cordova. Deacon August and his wife, Regina, have been parish- ioners at St. John the Evangelist for many years. Regina made the decision to stay home with her children while they were young, but just before the Dehn children started Kindergarten, she discerned it might be time to return to work. Her professional background? Special education. "Regina Cordova, I believe, was sent to guide Brody," Hilary said. To make the situation even better, Brody and Weston's kindergarten teacher happened to be Regina's sister, making collaboration in the classroom that much better. With the school's "yes" to the Dehn family and the hiring of Mrs. Cordova, SJE made a commitment in the Fall of 2023 to open their doors to students with disabilities. With this decision, schools often discover the need for increased training and education for their faculty. Each August, the Office of Catholic School's Department of Student Support Services responds to that need by hold- ing a professional development day for local paraprofes- sionals and the classroom teachers with whom they work. The training provides educators with important baseline information for serving students with disabilities and learning differences through the lens of Catholic education. At the end of the training, each participating school draws a card at random with a saint on it. What these saints — St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Bernadette and Bl. Solanus Casey, to name a few — have in common is that they are all known to have had disabilities or learning differences. Last year, the SJE team drew a somewhat unknown holy woman — St. Agatha Kim A-gi. Though perhaps a lesser-known saint, St. Agatha Kim A-gi has an incredible story of faith, love and courage. St. Agatha Kim A-gi was born into the Confucian faith in Korea in the 18th century. Exposed to the Catholic faith as an adult, St. Agatha deeply desired to be baptized. However, her intellectual disability made catechesis dif- ficult, as her ability to memorize prayers and teachings was extremely limited — a prerequisite for baptism in the region at this time. Nevertheless, St. Agatha would say over and over again, "I only know Jesus and Mary." She was baptized while imprisoned for her faith, and as Catholics were being martyred in Korea in the mid-1800s, it was this continuous profession that earned St. Agatha her martyrdom. I only know Jesus and Mary." ST. AGATHA KIM A-GI Brody Dehn and Regina Cordova at St. John's jog-a-thon. (Photo courtesy of FIRE Foundation of Denver and the Dehn Family)

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