On Oct. 14, Holy Cross School students eagerly held metallic green pom-poms and signs that spelled out “congratulations,” and as best they could, sat quietly in the school’s gymnasium in Garrett Park, Maryland, for the grand entrance of their unsuspecting principal, Lisa Maio Kane. 

The announcement, which was shrouded in secrecy, was scheduled for just after 8 a.m., while Kane was attending a resource meeting. Kane was the last to find out that she won The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s Distinguished Principal of the Year Award for the 2022-2023 academic year. 

As students from pre-K3 to eighth grade cheered Kane on, she could be seen asking, “What is it?”

Kelly Branaman, the archdiocese’s Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Schools, broke the news to Kane while speaking in front of the study body. Kane was presented with a bouquet of pink roses. As she wiped tears from her own face, Branaman spoke about the vital role of principals and how Kane’s faith and dedication to education made her such a notable principal. 

“She provides an excellent Catholic education for our students and provides such a faith-filled community of love and generosity that starts from her at the top and exudes through all of your teachers and the whole, entire school community,” Branaman said. 

Holy Cross School currently has 268 students. After Branaman spoke, Kane gave a brief address, which she ended by saying, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind,” before walking through the rows of students for photos and hugs while balancing two bouquets, as she had acquired another. Students even began to chant, “Mrs. Kane!”

Afterward, Branaman told the Catholic Standard what goes into considering such an accolade in education. 

“In the selection of a Principal of the Year, it really is an opportunity for us to name one individual that I feel is such a strong and exceptional model of what a school principal in a Catholic school should be, what they embody in servant leadership, what they do to support their teachers and faculty, how they work as a community with parents and what they do to support students, not only in their learning but in their faith formation. We look for someone who is a model servant leader, and Mrs. Kane embodies that in all that she does for the school community,” Branaman said. 

Kane started working at Holy Cross in 2004 as a resource teacher and testing coordinator and has since received other accolades such as Archdiocese of Washington Catholic School Teacher of the Year for the academic year of 2005-2006. That same year, she was honored with the Knights of Columbus Monsignor O’Donnell Teacher of the Year Award as well. 

Kane became the assistant principal in 2008 and was promoted to principal at Holy Cross School in 2009. In 2013, Kane saw her school be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. That honor, according to the department, “recognizes overall academic excellence.” 

Kane received her bachelor of arts degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and completed her master of education degree from Marymount University and an Administration and Supervision Certificate from Notre Dame of Maryland University. 

Kane’s husband, Eugene, and her children Alexandra, Eugene III, and Sarah attended the ceremony. Noel, Kane’s daughter, was Facetimed by her family to join in the celebration. 

“What you see here is sincere, it’s genuine, it’s transparent, it’s who she is, she does not put on a facade when she walks in this door, what you’re seeing here is the real Lisa Kane, a person who cares deeply, who’s genuine, who works hard and who’s passionate,” Kane’s husband, Eugene Kane, said. 

The event was truly a surprise for Kane, who said she was very confused. 

“My first thought was, I know it’s too soon for Blue Ribbon…and then when I saw Kelly [Branaman] I was like, oh it’s a visit from the Catholic Schools Office, and then when I saw the look on their faces, I realized what it was and the students started chanting. I started crying. I genuinely love each of these children,” Kane said. 

For Kane, Catholic education has always been a part of her life. Growing up in Pennsylvania as a self-titled “cradle Catholic,” Kane attended Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including Our Lady of Good Counsel in Southampton, St. Leo the Great Catholic School and St. Anthony of Padua School in Lancaster. She said it’s important for her to bring her faith into her work. 

“It’s a pleasure to work in a school where you can practice your faith freely, to share your belief system, to speak to the students about Jesus’ life. This was a major part of my life, my mother and father had devoted themselves to the Blessed Mother, and my brother, my sister, and myself would incorporate that in our daily lives. To be able to do this at Holy Cross School is a passion, it’s a vocation, it’s the best experience I can have as an educator,” Kane said. 

Education is Kane’s second career as she worked as a negotiator for an insurance company previously. 

“I went back to school, and I got another degree. I always say I have more degrees than a thermometer,” Kane said. “I came here and started as the resource teacher because I wanted to meet the needs of diverse learners in the Catholic environment where we welcome all types of learners, all of God’s children.”

For the first five years of her career as a teacher, Kane taught students with diverse learning needs. As Kane has seen many students graduate over the years, she has certain hopes for what they take away from their time at Holy Cross School.

“Jesus always loves them, and our motto (is) “Always be kind,’ which means to treat other people with kindness and respect and to use their education for good,” Kane said. 

Kane listed just a few of her favorite moments in her job. 

“Greeting every student, every morning outside at carpool, I love doing that. I love stopping in the classrooms every day, talking to the students, asking them what they’re learning, how it’s going. I love when students come into the office, and I love meeting with my team, my teachers, the parents,” Kane said.

Teachers at Holy Cross School shared their admiration for the precedent Kane sets for educators. Katie Shaffer, the lower school’s resource teacher; Teresa Overly, who teaches pre-K4; and Clare Hogan, who serves as the writing teacher for third to fifth grade and religion teacher to the sixth grade; joined together to talk about how much they admire Kane. 

Hogan, who is a Holy Cross graduate and former student of Kane’s, shared a memory of when she was taking a quiz in school.

“I was raised Catholic, so the Hail Mary we said every single day, and it was a prayer I knew through and through, and in the fifth grade Mrs. Kane taught me religion and she had a little throwaway quiz where we had to write the Hail Mary as one of the questions,” Hogan said. “And I got this thought in my head when I sat down, ‘What if you forgot the Hail Mary today?’” 

Hogan did forget and said she felt anxious that news of her forgetting would spread to her grandparents, whom Kane knew.

“But she was so kind and understanding and took it with such good humor and allowed me to retake it…in that way (she) just alleviated so many of my anxieties,” Hogan said. “Now that I work for her and know her a little bit better, that to me shows Mrs. Kane has a great devotion to the Blessed Mother.” 

Overly also serves as the assistant principal at Holy Cross School and has been teaching pre-kindergarten there for 21 years. She worked together with Kane to develop the pre-K3 classroom. 

“She’s very easy to approach, which I think is a key factor at least with the staff, she is very approachable. She never shies away from raising her hand, as far as on the Catholic school leadership level, if they ever need anything she’s willing to be on committees, and we see that in her, that she’s always willing to take part in the broader picture,“ Overly said. 

Shaffer shared her thoughts on Kane as a positive presence in the school. 

“She just really is, to the core, a good, kind, pure person, and her happiness is contagious. She smiles all the time, she just leads with kindness, and there’s never any intimidation, the kids feel that too. I think the student body and the parents just adore her,” Shaffer said. “She’s easy to love.”

Eighth graders William Geohagan, Connor Munson, Mady Butcher, and Isabel Thomas shared their excitement and praise about Kane’s award, a milestone they had only been made aware of earlier that morning. According to Munson, the award was not much of a surprise to him. 

“Mrs. Kane has always been a great principal, and I think she’s very deserving of this award,” Munson said. “Every day when I walk down the hallway, she always greets me, she asks how my day is going, she’s very involved with us. Whenever I have a problem, I can go to her and she makes me feel very welcome.”

Mady Butcher said Kane has been especially helpful with the high school application process. 

“She’s so kind and loving and since we’re all going to high school and we have to do meetings with her to get recommendations, she’s been so helpful with everything,” she said.

Fellow eighth grader Isabel Thomas noted that Kane “really cares about everyone here, and you can really see it in everything she does for us.” 

Geohagan added, “[Kane] always has a smile on her face in the hallway, and she always makes me feel welcome at Holy Cross.” 

To join in the celebration, students were told there would be a Kona Ice truck serving shaved ice available to them at lunch. By the end of the event, Kane had accumulated more bouquets and was ready to get back to work.

Just a week before being presented with the award, Kane was confronted by the challenging task of responding to an allegation of abuse against a minor by Father Robert Buchmeier, the pastor of Holy Cross Parish. The alleged abuse occurred decades ago before Father Buchmeier became a priest. The allegation led to his being put on administrative leave and the suspension of his priestly faculties while the case is being investigated by police in northern Virginia.

Kane said it’s important “to be open and honest, share the information we have that has been provided to us. Information is limited, but I do think it’s important that we’re open and honest, and they know that we will cooperate with the authorities whenever needed.” Counseling was made available to students at the school, and administrators there received advice about communicating the situation to students of different ages.