By Marie Mulvenna

Sister Valentina Sheridan, RSM, has been named the new superintendent of schools by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan. Currently serving the archdiocesan department of education as associate superintendent, Sister Valentina comes to her new position with 23 years of professional experience in the field of education.

A native of Macon, Sister entered the Sisters of Mercy in Baltimore in 1949 and received her B.S. degree from Mt. St. Agnes College in Baltimore. She holds an M.S. degree in education from the University of Dayton.

For 15 years, Sister was a teacher in dioceses in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Alabama and Georgia and served as principal of Sacred Heart School in Augusta for three years. Prior to joining the archdiocesan office in 1972, Sister was principal of Our lady of the Assumption School in Atlanta for five years.

Sister is an adjunct professor at Georgia State University, a community area consultant for schools staffed by the Sisters of Mercy in the state of Georgia and serves as president of the Atlanta Conference of Sisters.

A member of many professional organizations, Sister is on the Georgia elementary education committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; the Georgia Association of Independent Schools; the Georgia Association of Curriculum Development and the National Catholic Education Association. Sister Valentina is past president of the Executive Board of Atlanta Area Teacher Education Services and holds a DAS 5 life certificate for administration supervision.

In her position as associate superintendent of schools, Sister was responsible for the education programs of all parochial schools, visiting them regularly to aid in program planning and evaluation. She also coordinated staff development programs for teachers, assisted in personnel recruitment for the schools and coordinated federal programs and state aid to the schools.

In a related appointment, the archbishop announced that Sister Patricia A. Geary, GNSH, would serve as curriculum consultant for the archdiocesan schools. Sister comes to Atlanta from Buffalo where she is administrative assistant and director of the language arts program at St. Rose of Lima parish. She is an associate professor in the department of English at Canisius College and serves as coordinator of elementary language arts for the diocese of Buffalo.

From 1968 to 1971, Sister Patricia was director of language arts programs at Christ the King and had served as a teacher of grades two and four at Christ the King from 1962 to 1965. Sister has also served in New York educational posts and holds a master’s degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. She is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English and several educational organizations in the states of New York and Georgia.

The new positions become effective June 1976.