As she looks over her rather eventful first year as Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Schools for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Kelly Branaman said she takes pride in the outstanding job educators did in providing a Catholic education during a time of pandemic.

“I am proud simply to be a part of this community of leaders and educators. We have grown so much in a short period of time, managing the spiritual, logistical, managerial, educational and safety aspects of this pandemic,” Branaman said in an e-mail interview last month with the Catholic Standard. “We came together more frequently as leaders to discuss plans and strategies and to learn from one another. We came together more frequently to pray and support one another.”

Branaman, who has held various leadership roles in Catholic education for the archdiocese since 2003, was named by Cardinal Gregory in August 2020 to the top leadership post. She assumed her role at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

About 26,000 students from diverse backgrounds attend the 91 archdiocesan and independent Catholic schools located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which include early learning centers, elementary schools and high schools. The archdiocese’s Catholic schools are located in Washington, D.C., and the five surrounding Maryland counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s. The Archdiocese of Washington is home to more than 655,000 Catholics in 139 parishes.

“The success of this first year – or any year – as superintendent is owed to the outstanding servant leadership of our Catholic Schools Office, pastors, principals, teachers and staff,” she said. 

Branaman praised the ingenuity and creative thinking Catholic school educators employed during the past academic year to overcome the challenges of teaching under COVID restrictions and health mandates.

“Teachers were extremely creative this (past school) year, especially those teaching in both in-person and virtual classrooms. Teachers have become YouTube stars for their students as they created lessons for both the classroom and home. Teachers have implemented so many new technology skills in order to enhance instruction during this year,” Branaman said. 

In a thank-you letter she delivered at the end of the school year to all Catholic school employees, Branaman offered her “sincere gratitude and appreciation for the support you have consistently provided our children and families in Catholic schools during this most unusual year.”

“I wish to commend the ways in which you created new and unique ways of building community and keeping traditions meaningful for your students in a virtual or socially distant setting,” Branaman said in that letter.

She told educators in that thank-you letter that “the mission of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington persevered, in no small part, due to efforts of faculty, staff and administrators in each of your schools” and that the pandemic “did not hinder your efforts to celebrate and demonstrate your pride and love for your students.”

Noting that last school year, “we transitioned to virtual learning in the span of a weekend, when the state (of Maryland) directed to close school campuses in March 2020,” Branaman said that “our assessment results have demonstrated that our students did not have any significant learning gaps, as a result of the pandemic.”

“I am extremely proud of our school leaders and teachers for assuming new duties and procedures … They are the reason we had a successful academic year, not only in terms of safety, but also in student learning,” she said.

When Catholic schools returned to in-person learning, Branaman called that the highlight of her first year as Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Schools.

“Traditions are so important for our community. Students, especially high school seniors, who endured the pandemic, spent a significant portion of last year and this year in alternative settings,” she said. “Students missed extracurricular activities, choral, band and musical performances, sports, and other school traditions. For students to be able to graduate in-person was a personal highlight of my year.” 

Branaman said that at the end of the last school year, each school received a plaque to commemorate “the extraordinary and responsive work of our school leaders and educators during the pandemic.”

“We are a part of history,” she said. “One hundred years from now, people will know what our schools did to provide strong formation and excellent education to students during this pandemic.” 

The lessons learned during that first year of COVID-restricted education, Branaman added, will carry on into this new academic year.

“The pandemic in some ways, strengthened our roles as leaders and challenged us to respond to the needs of families and students in ways we never conceived of before the pandemic,” she said. “Our schools are here to further the mission of the Church and be responsive to the communities we serve. I believe we all have a new perspective of what that truly means now as Catholic educators.”