St. Francis Xavier teacher receives 2016 NCEA Award

Friday, Jan. 29, 2016

KEARNS — Vicky Simpson is among 32 educators who will receive the 2016 National Catholic Education Award Lead. Learn. Proclaim. They will be honored during the NCEA Convention & Expo in San Diego, Calif. March 29-31. 

Among the awardees are Catholic school leaders, teachers, principals and presidents, pastors, diocesan superintendents, school board and home school association leaders.

“NCEA commends the outstanding efforts, contributions and achievements of these exceptional leaders in Catholic education,” said Dr. Thomas W. Burnford, NCEA interim president. “These leaders are recognized as ambassadors of faith formation and academic excellence and serve as inspiration for all of us working in Catholic education.” 

“This award is well deserved,” said Mark Longe, Utah Catholic Schools superintendent. “It is a real prestigious award because Vicky is one of very few who are given this award, and everybody in the country is asked to nominate people. It is a great honor for Vicky, St. Francis Xavier School and for our Catholic school system.”

Simpson is a math, science, religion and health teacher for St. Francis Xavier School. For the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Simpson is the co-chair for the diocesan Science Fair and a member of the diocesan science curriculum committee. 

At St. Francis Xavier School Simpson also directs the science and math programs, was part of the leadership accreditation team, led curriculum mapping, instituted Family Math Night, and created a summer math program to help students retain math skills; “she is really just indispensable,” said Patrick Reeder, St. Francis Xavier principal. 

“But Vicky’s real strength is she models Catholic values, and she is very hard working,” Reeder continued. “She is passionate about teaching and she strives to improve the quality of education, both at St. Francis Xavier and at the diocesan level. Vicky is an advisor on the National Honor Society, runs the After School Academy program, has served as a teacher mentor, has been a representative on our school board; if she wasn’t here, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Simpson is a Judge Memorial Catholic High School graduate and is always looking for ways to improve the math and science programs; “she is very compassionate with our students, but she is also demanding,” Reeder said. “She doesn’t let students off the hook, she holds them to her expectations and accountable for their choices and their work within the school community. We are so blessed to have her as part of our St. Francis community and in the diocese.” 

To be selected for the NCEA Award, part of the criteria Simpson met included essays about how she would promote long-term planning for continuous improvement in her vision and mission of the school, how she integrates faith in the academic programs that she teaches and how she proclaims the good news of the Gospel within the Catholic education scenario. 

“This award is really a great honor,” Simpson said. “I was chosen, but it is really a reflection on St. Francis Xavier School, the people I work with every day, the students and the parents. We are a community; the award is really a reflection of the whole community. Parents are the first educators, then the administration, faculty, staff and students; we all work together as a team to provide an education for the students. I think that we are very supportive of each other because we are all focused; we work well together to try to meet the needs of all of our students and provide them with an education according to our mission and philosophy. We are all dedicated staff.” 

Simpson’s Catholic education started at home with her parents.  “Our Catholic faith drove everything we did in our family and my parents sacrificed a lot to give my brother and me a Catholic education,” Simpson said. “It’s my foundation that I carried through to what I am doing now. It really is a blessing.”