Peter Servidio

Saint Dominic Academy has announced that fifth-grade teacher and distance learning coordinator Peter Servidio has received a $10,000 grant from the Foundation of Blended and Online Learning. The award is a result of Servidio’s work on a blended learning partnership between the academy and Holy Savior School in Rumford. Blended learning combines proven teaching methods with the delivery of content via digital and online media. The pace and application of the material is adjusted on a student-by-student basis. Servidio leads the academy’s curriculum oversight for the partnership.

“I am humbled to be among the handful of recipients to receive this grant, which will allow us to ensure that 21st-century learning is occurring in our classrooms,” said Servidio. “I hope that the work we are doing at Saint Dominic Academy and Holy Savior School will become a model that helps Catholic education thrive within our state and beyond.”

Servidio has spent the past twelve years working as a librarian-media specialist, Virtual High School site coordinator, and part-time middle and high school teacher. Along with these roles, he was also the dean of student affairs at the academy’s Auburn campus for eight years before returning full-time to the classroom this year to teach fifth grade. 

The Foundation of Blended and Online Learning’s Teacher Grant Program is designed to reward teachers and counselors who have demonstrated excellence in education in targeted areas in the blended and online setting. To capture emerging best practices and share these strategies with the broader community, the program recognizes individuals who want to make a difference with their students through the utilization of different mediums and tools. 

Grant recipients must produce measurable outcomes to demonstrate the effectiveness of their programs and strategies. In its first year, the innovative program at Holy Savior School has already had a positive impact on students and teachers as they have utilized new technology and independent learning software in congruence with traditional classroom activities.