by Kathleen Bagg
Bishop Felipe J. Estévez has appointed Deacon Scott J. Conway, M.Ed., of Spring Hill, Fla., as the Superintendent of Catholic Schools of the Diocese of St. Augustine. The diocese encompasses 17 counties of north Florida and has 30 high-performing schools with a total Catholic school enrollment of 10,710. His appointment is effective July 1, 2015.
“I am impressed with the remarkable energy that Deacon Scott brings to the job of building Catholic identity in our schools and in a spirit of collaboration imbued in a high level of excellence and competence,” said Bishop Felipe Estévez.
Deacon Conway currently serves as principal of Notre Dame Catholic School in Spring Hill where he increased enrollment from 32 students to 230 in just three years. He credits his success to understanding the culture and environment at a parish school must be Christ-centered.
“You can’t separate Catholic identity from academic excellence when you talk about a Catholic education – they are interwoven,” said Deacon Conway.
Prior to serving at Notre Dame Catholic School, he served as vice principal at Christ the King Catholic School in Tampa and Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School in Spring Hill in the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
Deacon Conway was born and raised on Long Island, N.Y., attending primary and secondary education in the Patchogue-Medford School District before continuing his education at St. John’s University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1998. He went on to study for the priesthood for the Diocese of Rockville Centre at Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y. for five years.
He attended Long Island University in 2004 for graduate studies before returning to St. John’s University where he earned a master’s in education with an emphasis in administration and supervision in 2006. He then entered the graduate studies program at Fordham University.
After leaving the seminary, Deacon Conway began his teaching career at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, Long Island. It was there that his life took a completely different direction. He met his future wife, Kristen, and two years later they were married.
Deacon Conway continued to study in the field of education becoming a principal and serving on committees within the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s Superintendent’s Office.
After he and his wife reflected on their life they decided it was time to make a major move and they decided to follow the Yankees to Tampa for spring training. This was a good move for the family and especially for their two children, Emma and Owen.
It wasn’t long after working in the Diocese of St. Petersburg that Deacon Conway was approached by a priest there about becoming a permanent deacon.
He was ordained to the diaconate in 2011 and serves at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish in the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
Deacon Conway succeeds Patricia Bronsard, Ed.D. as superintendent of Catholic Schools. She retires this year after serving in the role for six years. Prior to that, Bronsard served as associate superintendent of Catholic Schools from 2005 to 2008.
The Diocese of St. Augustine encompasses 17 counties of north Florida. It serves more than 172,000 registered Catholics and provides outreach services to members of the community through approximately 50 ministries, agencies and 60 parishes and missions. The diocese has 4 high schools, 25 elementary schools and 1 special education school called Morning Star.
Click here for Deacon Conway’s Curriculum Vitae