The Office of Catholic Education of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (OCE) and Faith in the Future are pleased to announce the appointments of Mr. Peter Balzano, Principal of Cardinal O’Hara High School (Delaware County), Mr. William E. Brannick, Director of Technology, Office of Catholic Education and Mr. Michael J. McArdle as Director of Financial Aid, Office of Catholic Education.

Addressing the strategic importance of these key appointments, Mr. Christopher Mominey, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary for Catholic Education said, “These three appointments are a continuation of our bold commitment to building out the world’s premiere Catholic Education system. Beyond our goal of stabilizing schools, we are actively upgrading leadership and transforming The Office of Catholic Education to best serve the needs of our PK-12 families. By delivering the best in school level leadership, technology development, and strategic stewardship of financial aid resources, we are living our number one commitment: to grow our Catholic schools, to positively impact The Archdiocese and to benefit our communities for years to come.”

Mr. Peter Balzano has served the Archdiocese of Philadelphia over the last decade as an educator including as Assistant Principal at Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School (Delaware County) and Lansdale Catholic High School (Montgomery County). In September 2011, Mr. Balzano became the Director of Secondary School Services for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Most recently, he was appointed as an Associate Superintendent for Secondary Schools. For the past several months, Mr. Balzano has worked on-site contributing to day-to-day operations at Cardinal O’Hara while fulfilling his Associate Superintendent duties. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Temple University and a Master of Science Degree in Strategic and Organizational Leadership from Neumann University. His appointment as Principal of Cardinal O’Hara is effective immediately.

Mr. William E. Brannick joins the Office of Catholic Education after serving as an educator at Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School (Delaware County) in various roles, including Principal, since 2007. Mr. Brannick began his career as an educator at Monsignor Bonner as a Business and Technology teacher. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications with a concentration in Media Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. He also holds a Master of Science Degree in Education in Instructional Leadership from Neumann University. He will begin his role as Director of Technology in the Office of Catholic Education effective July 1st.

Mr. Michael J. McArdle will join the staff of the Office of Catholic Education, effective July 1st, in the position of Director of Financial Aid. Mr. McArdle has been President of Archbishop Ryan High School since 2004. He is a veteran educator in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Over the last 30-plus years, he has taught at Father Judge High School for Boys and Saint Hubert High School for Girls. He has held administrator roles at Cardinal O’Hara (Delaware County) and Bishop Shanahan (Chester County) high schools. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Villanova University and a Master of Education Degree in Secondary Education from West Chester University.

Editor’s Note: For information about Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit www.catholicschools-phl.org. For information about Faith in the Future, please visit www.faithinthefuture.com.

Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Director of Communications
215-587-3747