September 18, 2024 at 2:11 p.m.
A SHARED VISION!
Kim Santiago-Armenia is no stranger to schools.
For 12 years, she taught at Hamagrael Elementary School in Bethlehem. For four years, she was assistant principal and then language arts coordinator for Guilderland Elementary School. She worked for the New York State Education Department in the Office of Early Education and Reading Initiatives for two years, and the Office of Innovative School Models for 13 years.
Now, after retiring from the state in 2022, Santiago-Armenia is headed back to school as principal of Sacred Heart School in Troy.
“It is exciting,” Santiago-Armenia told The Evangelist. “I’ve been so blessed and had a fabulous career that now it’s time to give back. This is my chance to share here what I’ve learned and to learn from other people how we can make this the best little school that we can for the community.”
Santiago-Armenia joined Sacred Heart in 2023 as interim principal after former principal Amanda Goyer joined the Albany Diocese as the director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Diocesan Catholic School Office.
A year later, Santiago-Armenia is happy to stay.
“I say this all the time: God puts us where we’re supposed to be,” she said. “I think it just all fell into place. That’s why I say I’ve been very blessed. I’ve had a great career; I’ve been very fortunate.”
A native of the Albany Diocese, Santiago-Armenia grew up attending St. Thomas the Apostle Church with her five siblings. “That’s how I grew up, going to church, having faith and praying,” she said. “My grandmother was very into the Blessed Mother and St. Teresa and had an altar in her house. My parents still have an altar and saints in their house.”
Even before she was old enough to attend school, she recalls telling her family that when she grew up, she was going to teach.
“My uncle told me from the time I could peer my head up from the kitchen, I said, ‘I’m going to be a teacher,’ ” she said. “I’ve always known.”
Santiago-Armenia obtained her bachelor’s in elementary education and master’s in reading from The College of Saint Rose. She later obtained a certificate of Advanced Student Education Leadership, also from Saint Rose.
Even as she neared retirement from the state, Santiago-Armenia knew that she wasn’t done teaching just yet. She reached out to Hamagrael Elementary when she heard of an opening from a teacher on maternity leave.
“I retired on Aug. 30 and went back to work Sept. 1,” she laughed.
Afterwards, she reached out to Giovanni Virgiglio, former Chancellor and Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese, saying she was available to help with anything he needed. He called her almost immediately to talk about an opening at Sacred Heart.
“Everybody here truly and sincerely cares about the kids,” Santiago-Armenia said. “They want to make a difference, too. It’s a partnership, it’s not me. I have a great team of people who share the same vision and that’s why we’ve had the successes we’ve had.”
This year, Sacred Heart is working on a LEGO robotics partnership with a graduate student from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, and renovating its library to create a hands-on interactive experience similar to a children’s museum with a $10,000 Higher Powered Learning Grant the school received.
Santiago-Armenia also wants to focus on enhancing the school’s Catholic identity: “I think one of the added benefits (of Catholic education) is the foundation we’re laying down for these kids to have faith. To have faith in themselves, to have faith in God, and that no problem is too big.”
Like many schools, one of the biggest challenges Sacred Heart faces is offering tuition assistance to families. Santiago-Armenia has taken the mission to heart and accommodated a budget that did not raise tuition rates for the 2024-25 school year.
“I think our biggest hope is we’re celebrating our 98th year, and we’re positioning ourselves to celebrate our 100th year and beyond,” Santiago-Armenia said. “I think that that is our main goal. It’s to make this school sustainable for the next generation of families in Troy who want a Catholic education.”
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