Denver Catholic

EDUCATION I 7 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I FEBRUARY 12, 2014 Cecelia Gartland Christ the King School, Denver Teacher Cecelia Gartland said she believes all children deserve a secure, caring and stimu- lating environment in which they can grow. "As a Catholic teacher and mentor, it is my desire to help my students reach their full potential and to help them to learn respect for all people," she said. For 30 years Gartland has taught at Christ the King School as a lab re- source teacher, elementary science and fourth-grade teacher. She's taught fourth grade for the last 17 years. "I have remained in Catholic educa- tion because as an educator I must be able to teach and live my faith every day. I want every child to realize their God-given gifts and to share them with others," she said. She earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Regis University. After that, she joined the faculty at Christ the King. Gartland said she feels blessed to have the gift of faith, something she works to pass on to her students. "The community of Christ the King has embraced me for the past 30 years, and I feel fortunate to have worked with so many great families," she said. Rebecca Peel Christ the King School, Denver Rebecca Peel has operated her class- rooms under the following philoso- phy: "Every child is special and every child can learn." "When we work with our children, we look for some spe- cial quality in every one," she said. They then work to have students share their abilities others with others, she added. Peel's teaching career began after she graduated from Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., with a bachelor's degree in elementary education and art. Peel then taught at public and private schools in Green Bay, Wis., Foxpark, Wyo., and in Denver. She joined Christ the King School, where she's taught preschool through fourth-grades for 30 years. Peel has spent most of her career teaching kindergarten and started the all-day kindergarten program 30 years ago. She said she travels extensively and has learned that "children are children" no matter where one goes. But she's always stayed at Christ the King where she's grown to love the school and its families. "I love the staff. I love the parents. I love the children," she said. "And I'm allowed to take my curriculum and expand it to cover all different areas." Don't kiss your marriage goodbye Build intimacy through online accountability. learn more at www.covenanteyes.com/marriage CORRECTION Due to mislabeled photos sent to the Denver Catholic Register, two educators were misidentifi ed in photos that ran with profi les in the Feb. 5 issue. The correct photos of teachers Cecilia Gartland and Rebecca Peel are with their profi les below. The Register apologizes for any confusion the error may have caused. BY NISSA LAPOINT Principal Kathleen Byrnes can still visualize opening the envelope that contained The Catholic Foundation's annu- al salary grant for inner-city schools. As then-principal of Sts. Pe- ter and Paul School in Wheat Ridge, Byrnes said the grant was a welcome blessing that helped pay for the school's continuing education and teachers' salaries. "It was just like this weight was lifted off my shoulders," said Byrnes, now principal of St. Louis School in Louisville. "You don't want to cut any- thing that's a support service for children and you have to pay your teachers. I remem- ber celebrating it as a whole community." Grants from the northern Colorado endowment organi- zation are given to poor and inner-city Catholic schools to help supplement teachers' salaries. Sts. Peter and Paul School was one of 14 schools awarded $600,000 in total grants, dis- tributed between December and January for the 2013-2014 school year. The Foundation has distributed more than $8 million through its Teach- er Salary Assistance program since 2003. Richard Thompson, su- perintendent of the Offi ce of Catholic Schools in the Denver Archdiocese, said the grants help close the gap for school's lacking fi nancial resources. "Some of our schools are in parishes with offertories that run over $2 million a year, but some have offertories that barely reach $150,000," he said. "Because of this diversi- ty, we could quickly develop 'haves and have-nots' in our schools with some not being able to afford a salary scale to attract quality educators." Thompson assists The Foun- dation in assessing the needs and grant amount to give each school. The schools selected to re- ceive grants this year include Annunciation, Assumption, Blessed Sacrament, Guardian Angels and St. Francis de Sales, all in Denver; St. Louis in En- glewood, Sts. Peter and Paul in Wheat Ridge and St. Therese in Aurora. Teachers at these schools consider their work a personal vocation and are seen as rep- resentatives of Christ in the classroom, Thompson said. "None of our teachers are here for the money," he said. "Our teachers are here for the mission. If we are going to ac- complish that mission, we tru- ly must focus on our teachers in the classroom." By helping schools cover the cost of salaries, resources are made available to provide for other fi nancial needs, he said. "These grants help main- tain a portfolio of God-based schools that are affordable and accessible to as many families as possible," Thompson con- cluded. "They help us to avoid an 'elitist system' because all schools, whether they receive grants or not, are thus able to hire teachers at the same level of quality." The Foundation was estab- lished in 1998 to establish gifts and endowments to benefi t more than 200 organizations mostly within the Denver Arch- diocese. Gifts entrusted to The Foundation may be designated for specifi c endowments, pro- gram funds or donor-advised funds. Nissa LaPoint: 303-715-3138; nissa.lapoint@archden.org; www. twitter.com/DCRegisterNissa Foundation grants close gap for cash-strapped schools RECIPIENTS OF THE CATHOLIC FOUNDATION'S 2013-2014 GRANTS • Annunciation School • St. Francis de Sales School • Assumption School • St. James School • Blessed Sacrament School • St. Louis School, Englewood • Guardian Angels School • Sts. Peter and Paul School • Our Lady of Lourdes School • St. Rose of Lima School • St. Bernadette School • St. Stephen School • St. Catherine of Siena School • St. Therese School PHOTO PROVIDED STUDENTS at Our Lady of Lourdes School work in the class- room. The school was one of 14 to receive a grant from The Cath- olic Foundation to aid inner-city schools with budget shortfalls.

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