Parochial teachers serve as parental supplements, not substitutes — and therein lies the difference between the Fenwick community and its public-school counterparts.
By Gerald F. Lordan, O.P., Ph.D., Social Studies Teacher
Parents of parochial school students almost universally value their decision to choose religious-based programs over public education for the formation of their children. However, beyond intuition, parents sometimes find it difficult to articulate why they value that decision. An examination of the philosophical foundations of parochial education may enable us to understand on a rational level what we already value on an intuitive level.
Parochial schools have greater social capital than their public school counterparts. Social capital is the agreement among families concerning the core values which identify their behavior. Parochial school communities often have great diversity among their families by ethnicity, geography, income, and language, but these schools are successful in achieving the goals of their ministries because there is a congruence of core values among families. Good families gravitate toward good schools with good community values. With their obligation to service all families within their geographic attendance area, public schools often have less value congruence and less social capital.
Ms. Maria Nowicki is in her 10th year of teaching math at Fenwick.
This year would have marked the 110th birthday of the late Coach Lawless, who for nearly half a century worked for the students of Fenwick and the school since its inception in 1929. 
English Teacher Rick O’Connor brings his broadcasting expertise to Fenwick’s students.
Science Teacher Kevin Roche is the subject of our monthly series focusing on Fenwick’s fabulous, award-winning faculty.
English Teacher and alumnae Jennifer Ori ’06 is the subject of our monthly series focusing on Fenwick’s fabulous, award-winning faculty. 
Brother Rice alumnus who put the science in service for a half-century was fêted on June 15th.