Faculty and Staff

At St. Pius X Catholic School, we know that a great education comes partly from having outstanding teachers. We pride ourselves on having a stellar faculty and staff, who are here to serve your child by providing the best academic and faith formation. Our teachers are licensed in their subject areas, and many of them hold advanced degrees or are working towards advanced degrees in their field. 
 
Father Jorge Agüera, Pastor                       
Father Agüera has been the pastor at St. Pius X Parish since June of 2014. He oversees all school and parish operations. He has been a priest for 20 years, the last eight in the Archdiocese of Denver. He works to connect the school and parish, and to light a fire of faith in his flock. 

Mrs. Eileen Michalczyk, Principal              
Mrs. Michalczyk has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in theology. She has been teaching for 12 years and has been in school administration for six years. She is passionate about Catholic education, and understands that our two primary goals as Catholic educators and Catholic parents are to help our children get to Heaven someday and to prepare them in all aspects for life on Earth!

Mrs. Molly Barrett, Business Administrator
Mrs. Barrett is a parent of five children here in the school. She brings a tremendous amount of management experience with her, as well as extensive customer service experience.  She works with all families on the financial aspects of Catholic education, and assists with the day-to-day activities of the school office.

Mrs. Jackie Morales, Director of Advancement 
Mrs. Morales is responsible for assisting with marketing, communications and outreach for the school. She worked for 20 years in the corporate world prior to working for the church. She is also a mother of two students who attend our school. She helps parents stay connected through frequent communication, and she works with the office staff to welcome new families to the school.

Mrs. Leticia Hernandez, Administrative Assistant 
Mrs. Hernandez has been part of the administrative team for more than ten years.  She is the face of the office team and assists our Spanish speaking families. She coordinates the school office activities, and assists all members of the community with their needs.

Mrs. Mercedes Kent, Preschool Director
Mrs. Kent is returning to St. Pius X as our preschool director and pre-k teacher. She previously taught Spanish here and has been a teacher at other Catholic schools for the past few years. She has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Human Resources and Public Administration. She has a lot of experience working with young children, and enjoys overseeing the business side of our preschool program.

Mrs. Kate Schmied, Pre-Kingergarten       
Mrs. Schmied has been teaching at St. Pius X Catholic School for more than fifteen years. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education.  She co-teaches the pre-kindergarten class, and has a passion for introducing STEM activities to the pre-k students.

Mrs. Deann Aquino, Preschool                    
Mrs. Aquino has been at St. Pius for ten years. She holds a degree in early childhood education and teaches our preschool class. She does an excellent job preparing students for continued education by introducing them to the foundational skills needed to progress in their schooling.

Ms. Brittany Collet, Kindergarten         
Ms. Collet is our kindergarten teacher. She is a graduate of Franciscan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Collet is excited to continue her teaching career after working in a daycare/preschool program this last year. She brings a passion for the Catholic faith, and a love of early-childhood education into our program.

Ms. Rebecca Payo, First Grade                   
Ms. Payo traded in a career as a lawyer to teach in our Catholic schools. She brings a passion for Catholic education as well as experience serving in many roles as a catechist at the Cathedral. She has been teaching here for two years, and her students really enjoy the way she brings the faith to life in her classroom.

Mrs. Kendra Bissonnette, Second Grade
Mrs. Bissonnette has been teaching at St. Pius for ten years, first as a fourth grade teacher, then in middle school, and now in second grade. She has a strong knowledge of education at all levels and is preparing our second graders for First Communion and Reconciliation. She loves working with the students who are preparing for their sacraments!

Mrs. Lena McCarty, Third Grade              
Mrs. McCarty has been teaching at St. Pius for fifteen years. She is the lead teacher of our primary team and does an excellent job of preparing the third graders for the transition into the intermediate grades. She works with the students to help them learn to take responsibility for their own learning.

Mrs. Christine Arellano, Fourth Grade
Mrs. Arellano is returning to the teaching field after taking the last few years off to stay home with her sons and run a home daycare. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Creighton University. Mrs. Arellano has six years of teaching experience. She is excited to work with fourth grade, as they begin to look ahead to their middle school years.  

Ms. Erin Thielke, Fifth Grade
Mrs. Thielke is our fifth grade teacher and is returning to teaching after spending time in the last years subbing and home schooling. She has also taught at St. Therese and Our Lady of Loreto. Mrs. Theilke has a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education and art from Western State University. She works hard to help our fifth graders prepare for their transition to middle school!

Mr. Paul Buchholz, Middle School Social Studies and Science              
Mr. Buchholz is a dedicated Catholic educator who has taught in our Archdiocese for more than ten years. He has been working with our middle school team for four years. He is the homeroom teacher for sixth grade, because he brings a great ability to help sixth graders with the challenging transition to middle school. He has a passion for social studies and science that helps the students get excited about these areas as well!

Mr. Anthony Barrett, Middle School Language Arts and Literature     
Mr. Barrett has joined St. Pius X through the ACE Program through the University of Notre Dame. He is a graduate of the program and now holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Notre Dame.  He is our eighth grade homeroom teacher, and he takes on the responsibilities of assisting our eight grade students with their applications and preparations for high school.  The students really enjoy his creative lesson plans!

Mrs. Patricia Haven, Middle School Math and Religion               
Mrs. Haven is our middle school math and theology (religion) teacher. She comes to us with teaching experience in the public schools. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics with a computer science concentration from California State University. She also has a lot of experience working with religious education at many levels. She is the seventh grade homeroom teacher, and helps the students begin to look ahead to the excitement and challenges of their 8th grade year.  She has high expectations of the students, and they work hard to meet them!

Mrs. Carol Tufano, Resource Teacher
Mrs. Tufano has been teaching at St. Pius X for more than thirty years. She transitioned into the resource teacher role after having taught in the classroom for many years. Among many things, she supports young readers develop their reading skills. She works with students at all levels to help them develop a love for reading and writing!  She also coordinates our Title I tutoring program, as well as other programs in our school that support students who learn differently.   

Mr. Bruce McClaran, Physical Education             
Mr. McClaran has been the PE teacher at St. Pius for more than twenty five years.He brings a passion for lifelong physical health to the students he works with. He has high expectations for his students, and he supports them to reach those expectations. The students thoroughly enjoy his classes!

Ms. Kristen Ergenbright, Art and Library            
Ms. Bright has been teaching at St. Pius for almost ten years. She splits her time between assisting budding artists with their talents and administering the library. She is a talented artist herself, and she helps the students discover their own art abilities. One of their favorite art projects is using clay and the kiln to make wonderful creations!

Ms. Annette Beeves, Music                    
Ms. Beeves joined St. Pius X after directing music for the chapel at the Buckley Air Force Base. We share Ms. Beeves with the parish where she is the director of music and liturgy. Ms. Beeves plays several instruments, with the oboe being her favorite. She works with all of our students to develop a love for music, both instrumentally and vocally. She also directs our Christmas concert and our spring musical!

Ms. Alayna Moisse, Extended Day Director           
Ms. Moisse is a graduate of St. Pius X, and has now returned to direct our extended day program. She is finishing a degree in Early Childhood Education. She works with families who need child care services outside of our normal school hours. She plans fun activities for the students, especially during school breaks and our summer camp program.