News Post

Math department chair Mindy Moore and English teacher Mary Veith '05 were nominated by their peers as Visitation's 2021-2022 Teachers of the Year. These awards were established by the Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools to recognize the devotion of veteran and novice Catholic secondary school teachers. The awards celebrate faithful service, excellence, best practices, and innovations in Catholic secondary school teaching.

Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory gave out the awards at a ceremony on October 28. Students and fellow faculty first heard the news on Founders Day, October 13.

St. Francis de Sales’ maxim to “be who you are and be that well” can be seen all over the campus of Georgetown Visitation, but for a living example of Francis’ words, look no farther than the classroom of Ms. Veith, this year’s ADW HSPA Veteran Teacher of the Year.  As a member of the Class of 2005, Mary excelled in all areas of school life:  academics, athletics, and spiritual life. Luckily for us, Mary returned home after graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. and then a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from UND’s ACE Program. 

Not surprisingly, she threw herself into Visitation life again, this time teaching English, participating in retreats, and coaching. In the words of a colleague, “Mary has been an example for our students in her 12 years at Visitation as a teacher. She encourages them to be their best and always to make the Sisters proud. Teaching is her passion and her students are better for having her as a teacher.” 

For four years, Mrs. Moore observed her daughter excelling in her studies, especially in math, at Visitation. A long-time math teacher and former engineer herself, she dreamed of combining her love of Catholicism with her love of math by becoming a member of the Visitation math department. When her daughter graduated in 2020, Mindy was ready. That summer she was hired to teach five sections of math with three preps.

Never missing a beat and never seeming overwhelmed, Mindy quickly earned the respect and affection of the students and the faculty. Now in her third year, Mindy has risen to chair of the math department and has been honored by her colleagues as “Novice Teacher of the Year.”

In the words of a colleague, “Mindy is a champion of our students and inspires them to be their best and helps them believe they can do any math presented. She has made the Mathletes club one of the most popular and is making students love math.”

Another colleague described her as “a woman invested in her Catholic faith and in modeling it to our students. On many occasions she has willingly accepted the invitation or volunteered to speak to faculty or students at an SGA Cub of the Month assembly about the Little Virtues or being an educator of mind and heart. She speaks easily about God and the special gift of our Visitation Salesian charism.”