By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
FORT LAUDERDALE | It’s turning into a banner year for St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
Denise Aloma, the school’s principal, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education as one of nine school leaders nationwide to be honored with the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership for 2022.
The award is part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program — which St. Thomas received for the third time this year.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Principal Denise Aloma speaks at St. Thomas Aquinas' celebration of its 2022 Blue Ribbon designation as an Exemplary High Performing High School, Oct. 3, 2022. She is now one of nine principals nationwide similarly honored by the U.S. Department of Education with the Terrel Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership.
Aloma was the only Florida principal selected and the only one from a Catholic school. She has worked in Catholic education for 50 years — her entire professional life — 43 of those at St. Thomas, where she started as an English teacher, became assistant principal and has now been principal for seven years.
Named for the second U.S. secretary of education, the Bell Award recognizes “outstanding school leaders and the vital role they play in guiding students and schools to excellence” and who are dedicated to education as both a powerful and liberating force in people’s lives.
Principals are nominated by their school communities during the final stages of the National Blue Ribbon Schools application process.
Aloma and the other eight school leaders from the 2022 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools will be honored during the National Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C.
“I am honored and humbled by the award as it is an affirmation of the value of educators globally,” Aloma said in an email to the Florida Catholic. “I hope it can be a motivation for those who make a commitment to service, that there is joy, challenge and pride at the end of the day. And how lucky is one when vocation, occupation and faith are in alignment.”
Although she knew her staff had nominated her, “I was very, very surprised!” by the win.
“I cannot single out why I deserve this award, but I have always worked with soul, heart and mind, as do so many leaders I know. I hold this award in their names as well,” Aloma said.
The award recognized her embrace of innovations, such as STEM and pre-professional programs, her work toward building a “welcoming and inclusive community,” and her “collaborative and inclusive” style of leadership.
It also recognized her concern for “the social-emotional needs of students and teachers,” especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aloma established a school-wide bereavement support group called the Circle of Hope, which drew on expertise of the Theology Department and School Counseling Department to assist those struggling. “She supported faculty and their families by expanding access to childcare, offering alternate job roles, and successfully advocating for expanded staff sick and personal time,” the award blurb noted.
She also initiated the Partners in Parenting program, which provides parents with support and practical skills to help raise their children. And she created a Diversity, Inclusivity, and Sensitivity Committee (DISC), “which has now transformed into a student-led organization that promotes inclusive values and organizes service and experiential learning opportunities.”
Read more about Aloma’s achievements here.
