THREE EDUCATORS
A CENTURY OF EXPERIENCE
Louise Velletri
Ms. Velletri brought the past alive in a way only someone with a deep love for history could. In her classroom, history was not a string of dates but a tapestry of revolutionaries, thinkers, and dreamers. She hoped her students would learn history and then go out and make history.
ViAnn Farmer
Mrs. Farmer believed in every student who walked through the Wheat Center’s doors. She desired each student to learn who she was and what skills and tools worked for her to succeed in school and life! She was the heartbeat of a place where learning was not just academic but deeply personal.
Shannon Spears
Ms. Spears did not just teach English; she coaxed poetry out of reluctant teenagers and turned essays into acts of bravery. She taught her students to believe that their words mattered—that they could wield them to challenge, inspire, and change the world. She encouraged them to love literature not just for the lessons it taught about life but for the inspiration it gave about how to live their lives.
Something about the Rappahannock River reveals its poetry. Neither flashy nor loud, it quietly shapes the world around it, leaving its mark on everything it touches. Much like three extraordinary women who once walked the halls of St. Margaret’s School: Shannon Spears, Louise Velletri, and ViAnn Farmer. These were not just educators. They were forces of nature, each in her own way.
These women did not just shape students—they shaped futures through their faith and passion for teaching in a church school. While they are no longer in St. Margaret’s classrooms, their legacies remain woven into the school’s fabric, carried forward by the students and alumnae they inspired.
Your past support has helped keep the spirit of St. Margaret’s alive, ensuring that the lessons Ms. Spears, Ms. Velletri, and Mrs. Farmer imparted still resonate in the hearts of every student. We need your help to honor them by ensuring their impact continues to ripple outwards, like the Rappahannock itself. So, will you join us? Make your gift today and help keep the legacies of these teachers alive in memory and action. Thank you for everything you have done to make St. Margaret’s the place it is today.