Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education Executive Director Patricia Weitzel-O鈥橬eill has received the National Catholic Educational Association's 2017 C. Albert Koob Merit Award for her contributions to Catholic education.
The award annually recognizes an individual or organization for work that has national significance in areas of education including teaching, administration, parish religious education, research, publication or educational leadership.
Weitzel-O鈥橬eill has directed the Roche Center in the Lynch School of Education since 2010. Prior to that, she served as superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
鈥淚 am honored to be recognized for my contributions to the collaborative work of the Archdiocese of Washington and the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education,鈥� said Weitzel-O鈥橬eill. 鈥淚 look forward to continuing our work at the Center by providing exceptional programming, research and advocacy on behalf of all Catholic schools.鈥�
At the Roche Center, Weitzel-O鈥橬eill has worked to improve Catholic education through research, professional development, and advocacy both locally and nationally.
During her tenure, the center launched the Two-Way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools (TWIN-CS), a national initiative that supports the implementation and assessment of dual-language immersion models transforming Catholic school classrooms from monolingual to fully bilingual. Concurrently, the Roche Center launched the Emmaus Series, a formative 20-month development program that strengthens the spiritual leadership and entrepreneurial skills of school leaders. Now in its fifth year, the program is recognized as a national model.
Weitzel-O鈥橬eill and School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Hosffman Ospino authored the report聽Catholic Schools in an Increasingly Hispanic Church (2016), based on the first National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families. Additionally, she and Loyola University Chicago Professor Lorraine Ozar edited the聽National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools聽(2012).
Last fall, Weitzel-O鈥橬eill and Ospino hosted the first ever National Summit on Catholic Schools and Hispanic Families, inviting 200 recognized thought leaders to engage in two days of focused conversations examining the critical challenges. As an advocate, she serves on multiple boards, including the Governing Board for the聽Journal of Catholic Education,聽and is frequently invited to present at national and local conferences.
As the Superintendent for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Washington, she contributed to the creation, adoption and implementation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship program, the first federally funded voucher program for non-public schools.
With her archdiocesan colleagues she managed the development of the Consortium of Catholic Academies, Archdiocesan Catholic School Policies, and was instrumental in introducing standards-based curriculum, as well as programs to strengthen school leadership, technology integration and the implementation of child protection policies.
Prior to serving as superintendent, Weitzel-O'Neill was Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at Trinity Washington University.
Weitzel-O鈥橬eill received the in April at the NCEA鈥檚 2017 Convention, in St. Louis, Missouri, where she also presented and led workshops. The NCEA is a professional membership organization that provides leadership, direction, and service to fulfill the evangelizing, catechizing, and teaching mission of the Church.
- Ed Hayward | University Communications