Meet Our New Teachers
Teaching is the heart of what we do at Martin Saints. Our faculty is an irreplaceable treasure, a truly special group of Catholic men and women who have responded to God's call and built this community over the last five years.
The good news is that except for one who (semi)retired and another who followed his family to move to another state, all of last year's teachers are back and ready to go.
To succeed our two colleagues who have moved on, and due to growing enrollment (with 22 ninth graders this year, we have our largest ever freshman class), we've brought four new teachers aboard. Let's meet them!
Dr. Ryan Brown will teach philosophy, math, and astronomy. He grew up in the Poconos. Lately he has been teaching at both Eastern University and Villanova University. He has published many articles on Plato and Aristotle. He has a book forthcoming about love, education, and beauty in Plato's Phaedrus. A Catholic convert, he and his wife are expecting their first child in December.
Mrs. Holly Guertin will teach in our craftsmanship program. She is an artist who works in textiles and fiber. She has worked commercially for Lilly Pulitzer, but she also maintains her own studio, which was recently profiled on a website about home-based businesses. A Catholic convert, she and her husband have four sons. They also host a discussion group based on The Lamp, a Catholic literary magazine.
Mr. David Merola will teach geometry, algebra, and calculus. A classroom veteran, he has taught all kinds of math for over 15 years in middle school, high school, and college. He's taught the full spectrum of students, from special needs to gifted. He's also been a dorm parent at a boarding school and a tennis coach. He and his wife have three children. David loves the Latin Mass and the traditional breviary. He has led and mentored many Catholic men's groups.
Ms. Casey O'Donnell will teach literature and theology. She was a student teacher at Martin Saints last year, while finishing her Master's degree. Like Dr. Brown, she is a graduate of Villanova's Humanities department. She has also studied at Oxford University in England, where she learned to love Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, and the Dominicans. She has been an intern at the Theology of the Body Institute here in Pennsylvania.
Read more about these new teachers, and our returning faculty, here.
Is this a great group, or what?! We are so proud of all our teachers. We hope you will get to meet them. There's also a tribute to them on Instagram, and our first admissions open house will be Tuesday, October 18th, at 7pm.
