During her longtime service as the principal at St. Jane de Chantal School in Bethesda, Betsy Hamilton liked to say, “The fun never stops at De Chantal.”
That motto could be seen on June 4, 2025 – two days before the last day of the school year – as Hamilton greeted students arriving at the school, including fourth graders dressed up as characters from Greek mythology as part of a class project.
Hamilton posed for a photo with a girl portraying Medusa who wore a headpiece adorned with plastic snakes. The principal signed a yearbook for a boy wearing a winged helmet who was dressed as Mercury, the messenger of the gods.
Another boy portraying Odysseus, the wandering hero of the Trojan War, walked in school wearing a helmet and armor. The students wearing makeshift togas and other costumes and accessories portrayed Hercules, Pandora with a box, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom. A boy portraying Dionysus, the god of wine, carried a bottle, and another boy dressed as Poseidon, the god of the sea, had a fake beard and held a trident.
“There really is something special about this place,” Hamilton said in a later interview.
At the end of June, she retired after serving as the principal of St. Jane de Chantal School for the past 37 years. She was a first grader in the pioneer class when the school opened in 1953 in a white stucco farmhouse, staffed by the Sisters of Charity from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, who wore distinctive bonnets and capes.
“It was like ‘Little House on the Prairie,’” Hamilton said. She was a member of De Chantal’s first graduating class in 1961, and continued to live in the neighborhood after her marriage. Betsy Hamilton sent her four children to the school, and after serving as a parent volunteer, she returned to her alma mater as a kindergarten teacher for a year, and then taught first grade for five years.
After becoming the school’s first lay principal in 1988, she said, “I remember walking down the halls in pigtails, going on errands. Now I have the keys to this place. It’s unbelievable.”
In her first year as principal, St. Jane de Chantal was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. When De Chantal earned its second Blue Ribbon School honor in 2011, Hamilton and members of the school’s faculty and staff wore matching blue derby hats and blue boas and performed a dance routine on the school’s stage to the classic rock anthem, “We are the Champions,” by Queen.
On May 31, about 400 alumni, parents and current and former faculty, staff and students gathered at the parish hall at St. Jane de Chantal to honor the retiring principal and celebrate her legacy there. Fans with Hamilton’s smiling portrait were given to the guests, which perhaps was fitting, because they were her fans, and for nearly four decades, she has been the face of the school.
Speaking at the celebration, Father Samuel Giese, St. Jane’s pastor, noted, “Catholic education has been her vocation from God, lived in our midst in the halls and classrooms (here) and in conferences with parents.”
Pointing out how Pope Leo XIV’s journey to become pope began at his Catholic school, the priest praised Hamilton for preparing generations of De Chantal students for life, sharing knowledge, love and faith in God with them.
He announced that as a special gift, the parish was presenting her with tickets to the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” including hotel accommodations in New York City. She and her two daughters later enjoyed that musical about the founding father who shares their name.
The crowd gathered there gave her a standing ovation.
In an interview that evening, Father Giese said, “I think what is most impressive about her is her knowledge about each and every child who has come into the school. She knows them, and she knows their families… There’s no one (among the students and graduates) not known by her, loved by her and appreciated by her.”
Another speaker, John Nalls – a De Chantal graduate who sent his four children there – thanked Hamilton for seeing the potential in every child, especially students who were shy or struggling. “From the first day of kindergarten to eighth grade graduation, you’ve been a guiding presence… Thank you for your leadership, love and faith. You will forever be a part of the fabric of the place,” he said.
During the program, Hamilton was also thanked for instilling a love of learning in students, and for inspiring some graduates and parents to teach at the school.
Her son Tim Hamilton, a 1984 De Chantal graduate who now works for the Maryland Park Service, noted how his mother took evening classes at The Catholic University of America to earn her master’s degree in counseling and leadership there.
“When she became principal, mom’s role expanded from four kids to 500,” he said. Addressing parents at the gathering, he added, “She was proud, worried, happy, sad and hurt for each of your kids.”
Tim Hamilton said that as principal, his mother cared about “imparting students with the same values taught by the Sisters of Charity… The soul of De Chantal is still the same as it was.”
Praising the impact that his mom had on her students, he said, “Thousands of people out there are kinder and better because of how you shaped them.”
Betsy Hamilton’s other three children include Katie Shaffer, a resource teacher at Holy Cross School in Garrett Park, and Mary Beth McLoughlin, a fourth grade teacher at St. Elizabeth School in Rockville. The retired principal’s youngest son, Patrick Hamilton, works as a playwright in New York City. Just as her four children did, eight of Betsy Hamilton’s 10 grandchildren attended St. Jane de Chantal School.
“We came here because it was home to us,” said Mary Beth McLoughlin, noting that she and her siblings also received their sacraments at St. Jane de Chantal, including baptisms as infants and weddings as adults.
Katie Shaffer said the spirit of fun and joy at the school, and its emphasis on kindness, reflect their mother’s impact over the past four decades. She added, “I think De Chantal is my mom. She’s been here forever.”
Catholic school principals at the gathering praised Betsy Hamilton as a friend and mentor.
“She is the gold standard. She always puts children first,” said Lisa Maio Kane, the principal of Holy Cross School.
Mary Penny, the principal of St. Elizabeth School, noted, “She has been a mentor and friend to all, and she inspires us to keep going.”
The new principal at St. Jane de Chantal School, Catie Skibo, previously served as the assistant principal and taught there for 12 years, including as the kindergarten teacher. In an interview, she praised Hamilton for her love of students, her patience and for how she listened to students.
“She gives all of herself to the school. I want to emulate that,” Skibo said, also noting the value that Hamilton placed on the school’s traditions. “She lives down the street. She’s not far. I can stop by every day (for advice).”
Other guests at the parish celebration noted Hamilton’s personal approach to her work. Jenny Graham, a De Chantal graduate who sent her two children to the school and now serves as a kindergarten aide and runs the cafeteria there, said Hamilton made every child feel special, and stood by the school’s front door each morning to greet them by name.
Anna Owens, who taught third grade there, said, “She always saw the best in each kid.”
Kevin Dorn, a 2004 De Chantal graduate who now works as a lawyer, noted that his mother died of cancer when he was an eighth grader there, and his younger sister was a seventh grader and a younger brother was a sixth grader. “Mrs. Hamilton and the parish here were so generous and caring to me and my family. It meant everything to us,” he said.
The Catholic education he received there, he said, emphasized the importance of having “respect and love for others, and giving back to the community.” That inspired him to serve as a teacher at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda.
Later in an interview on June 10 after the 2024-25 school ended and as she was completing her work as De Chantal’s principal, Hamilton sat in one of the two large rocking chairs in her office, where over the years she had met with students sent there.
“That’s what I’ll miss the most, the kids,” she said.
Also displayed in the office were three handbells from the Sisters of Charity.
In recent years, Hamilton and a student sitting in the rocking chairs in her office provided morning announcements through what they called “The Morning Show,” which was transmitted from a laptop on a YouTube channel to every classroom.
Just as the Sisters of Charity did, she started and ended each school day by praying with students. She continued the sisters’ devotion to their foundress, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who pioneered the Catholic school system in this country. The school’s courtyard includes a statue of that saint who 50 years ago became the first American to be canonized.
When asked if she felt blessed to have been connected to St. Jane de Chantal School for all those years, first as a student, then as a parent, teacher and as the principal, Hamilton said, “I do. I always have.”
She noted how, on the day before the last day of school, “Everybody wore pink, because that’s my favorite color.”
Hamilton, who wore pink just as she had at the earlier parish celebration honoring her, was given a pink hat and pink slippers. Students from each grade read tributes to her and gave her flowers, and pink lemonade was served. The school’s choir sang the traditional Irish blessing.
Then the whole school community stood on the turf field, standing in the shape of a heart for a group photo. And standing and smiling at the center was Betsy Hamilton, who was praised by Father Giese at the parish celebration for “keeping the faith alive and strong in the heart of Bethesda, and wherever students go.”
