All in the family: Three generations of educators at Montgomery Catholic

By MARY KELLEY
For The Catholic Week
MONTGOMERY — As Sarah Rose Burden began her first year as an elementary teacher with Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, she was not overly nervous as most brand new educators might be about embarking on a brand new career. Miss Burden grew up learning from her mother and her grandfather, who are both teachers and former administrators at the school, and she always dreamed of one day joining the teaching profession. 
Mrs. Ellie Burden, Sarah Rose’s mother, is a 31-year veteran elementary teacher who began her 19th year with Montgomery Catholic in August. Mr. Gerry Shook, Sarah Rose Burden’s grandfather, served as the principal at Montgomery Catholic’s St. Bede Elementary Campus in the 1990s prior to his retirement as an educator.
When Sarah Rose graduated from Auburn University in May 2024, she knew there was only one place she wanted to begin her teaching career and that was returning to her alma mater only four years after her high school graduation in 2020. 
Miss Burden is a first-grade teacher at Montgomery Catholic’s Holy Spirit Elementary Campus alongside her mother, who is a K3/K4 teacher just down the hall. Miss Burden is also the Montgomery Catholic Varsity Cheerleading Coach. Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is proud to have a legacy of alumni and friends who continue the mission of our school founded by the Sisters of Loretto over 150 years ago.