Eileen Baglivio, kindergarten teacher in St. Peter School, Point Pleasant Beach, has been named a finalist for the 2022 Nonpublic Teacher of the Year Award. Sponsored by the New Jersey Council for American Private Education, the recognition was announced during the organization’s annual award ceremony, held virtually Sept. 20.
A 28-year veteran of Catholic education, served five years in a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of New York, and the past 23 as St. Peter School’s kindergarten teacher. She earned a master’s degree in education from Columbia University, New York, and holds certification in both New Jersey and New York. The longtime educator was featured on the cover of The Monitor Magazine’s September 2022 issue, along with one of her students, as part of a story on the Vocation of Teaching.
Baglivio leads the school’s Character Education and Anti-Bully Committee and Mission program, and has helped the school earn its designations as a N.J. School of Character and 2016 National Blue Ribbon School. Additionally, she has been instrumental in collecting for the local food pantry and fundraising to provide items for the local police department when children end up in their care.
“Enough cannot be said about Eileen Baglivio, her dedication and commitment to our school and to Catholic education,” wrote St. Peter School principal Tracey Kobrin in her nomination letter. “She is an exemplary teacher who gives of herself each day to provide the foundation necessary to develop students of faith and character while providing rigorous academics and fostering the success of her students. She exemplifies what we all want in a Catholic school educator – someone who is committed to all areas of growth for her students, who helps and mentors new teachers… and who spreads love and goodness every single day.”
Baglivio, calling her recognition as finalist “a tremendous honor,” commented, “As Catholic school educators, we are charged with planting seeds of faith, character and knowledge in our children. We love and nurture them and watch them grow every single day.”
In an interview for The Monitor Magazine’s September issue, Baglivio shared, “Our religion helps shape every aspect of the children I teach. Being able to share Bible stories and using examples of how Jesus lived to help develop good character and acceptance of all people – these skills teach children how to deal with many experiences they will have in their lives.”
She continued, “Bringing kindergarteners to the school chapel to say a prayer are very special moments in my day.”
Juliette Wester, a history teacher in Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, was named the winner of the award. Wester began her teaching career in 2010 at Sisters Academy of New Jersey in Asbury Park. Kristine Combs from Far Hills Country Day School, Far Hills, was named a finalist along with Baglivio.
The New Jersey Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Award is conferred annually to a teacher who is “exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled… able to inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn…” Nominees must also demonstrate “respect and admiration of students, parents and colleagues."
NJ CAPE, which represents all major nonpublic school constituencies in New Jersey, invites its members to nominate a teacher for the award. In the Diocese of Trenton, schoolteacher nominations are submitted to the Diocese, which chooses one for submission to the state organization.
Dr. George Corwell, director of the Office of Education of the New Jersey Catholic Conference and chairperson of the award selection committee, said of this year’s winner and finalists: “Nonpublic schoolteachers are pivotal in preparing students for the skills and knowledge needed for the rapidly evolving challenges of the 21st Century, especially here in New Jersey.”
Dr. Corwell said that the honored educators, “demonstrate each day what it means to be fully invested in your career and . . .represent the best and brightest among the thousands of dedicated nonpublic schoolteachers who do their jobs in a way that embodies the true spirit of education, while enhancing the lives of nonpublic school children and the communities in which they live.”