Three New Principals Glad to Be Coming ‘Home’

Posted

Anna Ramirez-Adam is returning home, Kate McHugh is staying home and Lawrence Cooke feels at home after a 30-year detour.

Ms. Ramirez-Adam, Ms. McHugh and Cooke met with CNY as three of the 25 new principals at schools in the archdiocese for the 2016-17 school year.

Ms. Ramirez-Adam and Ms. McHugh will be principals in Manhattan at St. Elizabeth’s School and The Epiphany School, respectively. Cooke will be in the Bronx at Immaculate Conception.

“They all have the academic credentials to do well,’’ said Steven Virgadamo, associate superintendent for leadership. “We looked for highly credentialed individuals who not only have educational experiences but life experiences and have demonstrated leadership potential. They not only see themselves as educational leaders but as ministers of the Church.”

Ms. Ramirez-Adam is returning to the school and parish where she took religious education classes and made her first Holy Communion as well as began her teaching career. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the City College of New York and holds a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Ms. Ramirez-Adam taught at St. Elizabeth’s for seven years and at SS. Philip and James School in the Bronx for seven years before serving as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in Florida for 27 years. She was principal at St. Joseph’s School in Palm Bay for 10 years and St. Catherine’s School in Sebring for five years.

“It’s very exciting for me to go back and continue to strengthen the education at St. Elizabeth, help these children grow into life-long learners and realize religion is not just a subject but is our faith,’’ Ms. Ramirez-Adam said.

Ms. McHugh, who has a bachelor’s in chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross, earned a master’s in chemistry and general science education from New York University and a master’s in education with a major in administration and supervision, Catholic leadership program, from Fordham University.

She started as a science teacher at The Epiphany School in 2001 before serving as dean of students, 2004-2007; guidance teacher, 2005-2008; and vice principal, 2007-2016.

“I went to Epiphany, and my husband went to Epiphany. We were in the same class,’’ Ms. McHugh said. “Our siblings all went there. Starting in September, both of our children will be attending Epiphany. It’s always been a part of our lives, and it’s really exciting to start another chapter of that relationship with the school.

Ms. McHugh is a founder of Epiphany’s Stars for Service community service program and alumni committee.

“One of the biggest pieces of school’s success is the family feeling,’’ she said. “I think everyone comes together to worship, to study and to socialize. It’s really a second home for so many people. For that, the children stay and the teachers stay.”

Cooke was in sales management, marketing, consulting and business management before becoming a teacher in 2007 at St. Joseph’s High School, a girls’ school in Brooklyn. He volunteered at St. Joan of Arc parish in Queens as a catechist, men’s prayer group facilitator and lector.

“I always wanted to be in education. I just took a 30-year detour in business,” Cooke said. “I’ve done volunteer work with my church and youth organization related to the Catholic church over the last 20 years.’’

Cooke believes his background in business, teaching and volunteering at his parish has prepared him for his new position.

“Now I’m a lead teacher and a lead spiritual adviser,” he said. “I’m very excited about it. This is not a job. This is a vocation and one I had worked very hard in my life to do. This is where I want to be and my placement at Immaculate Conception is a privilege and a calling. It’s where God has placed me.’’