T e s t i m o n i a l s
"Congratulations to ADAPP and its wonderful team. You have helped many faculty and students over the years. We are grateful for your professionalism and caring attitude. "
Sister Teresa Barton, CND
and all at Villa Maria Academy
"Congratulations!!! St. Jean's has been a long-time partner with ADAPP and we sincerely appreciate the services provided by our ADAPP counselors."
Sister Maria Cassano, CND, Principal
St. Jean Baptiste High School
"Congratulations to you! As a former educator in our schools and as a representative of the Office of the Superintendent, I am grateful for your services to our communities. We are all blessed by your work."
Lori Zeisel
"Thank you for all you do to support our students. Please keep up your great work."
Peter P. Corritori, Jr. '71
President & CEO, Mount St. Michael Academy
Dear Members of ADAPP,
"Congratulations on the celebration of your anniversary of 50 years of service to our Catholic school communities. The dedication of past and present members of the ADAPP team has been extraordinary.
As the principal of St. Brendan School in the Bronx, I witnessed firsthand that dedication. Whenever there was a serious situation, ADAPP was only a phone call away. Then, that phone call was followed up immediately to give help and support to students, families, and faculty members in difficult times involving serious accidents, attempted suicide, and deaths. What a blessing ADAPP was during those times of crisis.
As the District/Regional Superintendent for the Manhattan Catholic Schools, I witnessed the same dedicated service to all the Catholic elementary schools in Manhattan. The Manhattan principals were confident that they had the immediate support of ADAPP to assist in difficult situations. Whenever such a situation arose, I would call and ask the principal if ADAPP had been contacted, I was always told, “Yes, ADAPP is on their way to my school as we speak.”
After 50 years of such wonderful, effective, and dedicated service to the Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese, I pray that God will continue to bless the work of ADAPP for another 50 years."
Sincerely,
Sister June Clare Tracy, O.P., Ed.D.
Sparkill Dominican
"Congratulations! Thank you for ALL you do for our students and for us!"
Sr. Anne Massell, PBVM
Associate Superintendent for Leadership
"Congratulations and thank you for assistance that you gave me in my past life as a principal.
Ad Multos Annos!"
Lucia DiJusto
Catechist Formation Program
"Hello everyone! I'm Beverly Scriven former Fiscal Officer for ADAPP. My responsibilities there was a challenging and rewarding experience, due in part to the team effort of the entire ADAPP staff. Wishing you continued success in your future endeavors."
Beverly Scriven
"Having had worked at ADAPP for 18 years, I can say it takes not just a professional, well-trained staff to deliver such much needed services to children, families and communities. It takes a group of caring and dedicated individuals. From its Executive and administrative staff to its school-based counselors, I had the privilege to work with the best. My time with ADAPP made me not only a better administrative professional, but a better person."
Rosanne Ciociola
The “Beatles” song, Come Together, sums up my 20+ years working for ADAPP. My work as a community organizer afforded me the opportunity to work with a highly professional team of my colleagues who, with a strong sense of commitment and passion, came together to help make communities a healthier place, as we together learned about prevention and coalition strategies.
ADAPP gave me the opportunity to grow as a professional and allowed for creative expression in helping to develop innovative projects, such as PhotoVoice Project, that empowered the youth to share their story through photos to raise community awareness and bring about change.
ADAPP’s environment brought the employees together, especially during the times all staff attended conferences at Mohonk Mountain, and being part of the yearly conferences in D.C. We shared the excitement of learning new things, as well as meeting our legislative leaders and the “secret passageway tunnel train”.
My fond memories of being part of the ADAPP family is how we bonded over watching our families grow, sharing funny stories and showing support when needed. I am grateful to have such good friends – 20 years later - in my life today.
Janit Dini Bliss
The Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Scarsdale, participated in the Too Good For Drugs Curriculum with Grades 7 & 8 and Too Good For Violence Curriculum –for Grades 3, 4 and 6. Our students learned through role play and interaction with the teacher on how to make correct choices in different situations. The curriculum was student geared and easily relatable. I highly recommend this program to any school.
Tracy Keelin, Principal
Immaculate Heart of Mary
"The students in grades 6,7,8 had a very positive and effective experience with Project Leap and the weekly ADAPP sessions. They were provided with activity booklets which they used weekly, and the classes consisted of lessons, conversations, role-playing activities and written responses in the booklets. The students looked forward to the classes with Mr. B and were eagerly engaged in the activities. The teacher had a great rapport with the students and provided clear explanations of the topics and always provided positive feedback.
Overall, it was a great experience for the students."
Joan Cosentino, Religion Teacher
Immaculate Heart of Mary
“My name is Minion Garner and in 2005 I went for an interview at an agency called ADAPP. I had other work out of graduate school but none of it was gratifying… until ADAPP. Being a Social Worker or any Mental Health Professional, our goal is to facilitate wellness, growth, support and hope and I am so glad and grateful ADAPP exists because that is exactly what they do for the communities they serve. I spent 15+ years there and saw firsthand the many students, families, principals, school systems and administrations they serve every single day. In 2021, I moved to the state of CA; I know the professional I am today because of the training and the examples I had in my colleagues and the administration at ADAPP.
It has been 50 years since they began serving the Greater NY Area and I am Honored that I was able to work with the best Mental Health Professionals and Staff for the time that I did there. The ADAPP Legacy will continue to grow as they do the work that makes our world better, one person at a time. All that is left to say is:
WELL Deserved & CONGRATULATIONS ADAPP! 50 years and Counting!”
Minion Chola Garner
"ADAPP has been an invaluable resource for our students at Mount Carmel. Our students have benefited greatly from our partnership with ADAPP. In these times, more than ever before, students need as much additional support and love as we can provide them. ADAPP is an important piece of that love and support here at OLMC. Thank You ADAPP!!! Ms. Tiffany Young our ADAPP Counselor is AWESOME!!!!"
John Musto, Principal
Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Bx
"Happy 50th Anniversary to ADAPP! I have been working closely with the ADAPP staff for the past 15 years. ADAPP has been present in our school educating students about substance abuse and leading an Anti-bullying program. They have always been and still are a phone call away if I need their assistance. They have come to St. Theresa School and presented not only to our students but to our parents on varies topics of concern. The staff is always available and willing to help! I am most grateful to the ADAPP Staff; I wish them continued success in the future."
Josephine Fanelli, Principal
St. Theresa School, Bx
"It has been a pleasure to partner with ADAPP. Everyone is a pleasure to work with and is so kind and generous. The children truly benefit from the many programs ADAPP has to offer. I look forward to our future collaboration."
JC Kiernan, Principal
Saint Charles School, SI
"Happy 50th Anniversary ADAPP! I feel privileged to have worked for ten years as a counselor in your comprehensive school-based program. ADAPP provided me with amazing opportunities for growth including wonderful supervision and enriching professional development. It was profoundly rewarding to work with principals, teachers and students and to experience first-hand how ADAPP's programs really make a difference in the lives of so many. Thank you to the amazing staff of ADAPP for all the wonderful work you do and for allowing me to be part of this incredible organization. Here's to the next 50 years!"
Jill Fife, LCSW
"I have worked for the Archdiocese of New York for 43 years before retiring in 2015 and am grateful for the presence of ADAPP in each step of my career.
Whether I was a classroom teacher, school counselor, principal, dean, or Regional Superintendent, I always had the confidence that ADAPP was there for me to help through difficult situations. We communicated and strategized to do what was in the best interest of our students and families.
Fran Maturo, long time Director of ADAPP always managed to put together a caring and dedicated team. From individual counseling to implementation of full programs for our schools, the ADAPP personnel was always ready to help whenever they were asked.
And the good work continues under the dynamic leadership of Christine Cavallucci.
Congratulations on 50 years of caring and giving!
May God bless you all as you continue to tend to the students in your ministry of Catholic education."
Roseann Carotenuto
"ADAPP has been an invaluable resource for our school community. We have been blessed to work with them for many years."
Bernadette Ficchi, Principal
Saint Ann School, SI
"It has been a privilege for Fordham Prep to work with ADAPP counselors and staff for the past five years. We are grateful to Ted McCourtney, LMSW for his dedicated service to our students and families, through his patient understanding,
loving care, and compassion. Our partnership
with ADAPP has been a source of hope and
support in navigating challenging circumstances and educating our community in areas of
health and wellness rooted in our Catholic and Jesuit values."
Joseph A. Petriello, PhD '98, Principal
Fordham Preparatory School
"OLV is extremely grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with ADAPP and appreciates the ability to have a certified and qualified counselor on-site for our students. These services have been essential as we are continuously navigating the effects of the pandemic. Mental health awareness, strategies for preventing substance abuse, and positive coping behaviors are just a few things that our school community has gained through ADAPP's programs. As educators, we are aware of the direct correlation between a student's mental health and its impact on their learning and achievement, therefore, it is important to continue our partnership with ADAPP to ensure our students are always supported."
Helena Castilla-Byrne, Principal
Our Lady of Victory School
"Our ADAPP counselor is an invaluable member of our school community. She provides support, expertise, guidance, and compassion at the most challenging times. ADAPP's high quality programs and trainings are essential to the well-being of
our students, faculty, and staff as well as success
of our school."
Jill Albert, Principal
Kingston Catholic Elementary School
"In September 2001, I was offered an internship with ADAPP during my advanced years of study at Fordham University.
Upon graduating a year later, I was given the opportunity to direct a grant funded initiative that assigned health educators to schools across NYC. ADAPP has been the cradle of my professional journey and my first professional learning community.
The leadership, Frances Maturo and Christine Cavallucci, trusted me to build a program (Project LEAP) from the ground up. And I am grateful that it became a very successful program.
We hired social workers and health educators that served some 80 schools. During those 8 years at ADAPP, I was also given the opportunity to travel across the country to attend conferences where I honed my leadership skills.
Today I lead many of the crises for NYC DOE schools in the Bronx with a group of highly skilled social workers. ADAPP gave me the experience and foundational skills to continue this work across the city. Those formative and informative years continue to pay dividends in my professional life. Along the way, I found lifelong friends, thought partners and skills that have shaped my core values within the social work profession.
I am especially grateful for Christine Cavallucci who served as my clinical supervisor, supporter, and someone I now hold as a true friend. ADAPP not only cares about the schools that they serve but also their employees.
While directing Project Leap, my wife and I discovered that our two-year-old daughter had cancer. Our world was collapsing on us. During this very difficult time, the leadership at ADAPP went above and beyond to support us. Colleagues and friends offered prayers, breaks, kind words and other ways to alleviate our suffering.
I am who I am today in part because I started my professional journey at ADAPP. I am where I am today because I started my professional Journey at ADAPP.
Congratulations on this your 50th anniversary of being an agent of change to the children and families within the Archdiocese of NY and our community at large. It was John F. Kennedy who said, "Here on earth God's work must truly be our own." I am convinced that this is exactly what you have done over these past 50 years. You have made God's work here below your own - our own. Thank you for giving me a good start.
I pray that the next 50 years will carry you higher and further and deeper and wider in reaching the children of NYC and beyond."
Roger Ball, LMSW, MA, PhD
"ADAPP has been a part of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for over 10 years. The programs they offer to the school have been extremely helpful to the students, faculty, staff and families. The team is always available to help assist in any situation that may arise. It is a pleasure working with all of the ADAPP team. Look forward to working with them for the 2022-2023 school year."
Jennifer Langford, Principal
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Middletown, NY
"On behalf of the Sacred Heart High School community, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to ADAPP for 50 years of service in our Catholic Schools. We have been blessed to partner with ADAPP."
Best wishes for continued success!
Frances Acosta, Ofs, Principal
Sacred Heart HS, Yonkers, NY
"Partnerships and bonds are essential in today's mental health crisis. Children need to feel they are understood, that someone cares about them, and that they can always seek the help of someone they trust. ADAPP has been helping children find these partnerships and develop these bonds for years... Congratulations on your 50th!!!
Looking forward to 50 MORE!!!"
Melissa M. Moore, Principal
St. Margaret Mary School (NWSB)
