Meet Xaverian’s Newest Faculty Members 

At the start of the school year, members of Xaverian’s Communications Corps, a club for juniors and seniors dedicated to sharing the good news of Xaverian via various forms of media, were tasked with interviewing the newest members of our faculty. Read their brief introductory interviews below! 

Dr. Adrienne Banko, World Languages
Interviewed by Harrison Lydon ’27
 
Dr. Adrienne Banko returns to Xaverian after joining the World Languages Department in February of last year. Originally from Pennsylvania, she earned her bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Spanish from West Chester University. She later attended the University of South Carolina, where she completed her master’s degree and Ph.D. in Spanish Literature.

Since 2006, Dr. Banko has taught at both the high school and university levels, including at the University of South Carolina. Prior to returning to Xaverian, she worked on a research project at Northeastern University, where she realized she still felt called to teach. She is excited to be back at Xaverian this year, sharing that “everybody was super welcoming, and the kids are just fabulous.”

Ms. Anastasia Pavloff has been playing instruments since she was five years old. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2024.

As a member of the Fine and Performing Arts Department, she shares her enthusiasm for teaching, saying, “I love teaching music, I’ve been doing it my whole life. The warm welcome and support from the Xaverian community was like nothing else I’ve experienced.” She also added that music is “truly the universal language.” She enjoys inspiring students to continue learning music in school, just as she did when she was younger.

Coming from a fellow Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School in Maryland, Mount Saint Joseph High School, Mr. Ryan Slattery joins Xaverian as the new FXD Campus Minister & Student Engagement Coordinator. He has a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Catholic University of America, and a Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University. 

Mr. Slattery says he is impressed by Xaverian’s support systems–like the academic centers–which he is excited to reinforce through the newly created campus ministry Instagram. He hopes this avenue will meet students where they’re at–online–as well as in-person with the array of service and faith activities offered at school.

While Ms. Kelsey Tanner began her Spanish journey in seventh grade, she admits that she didn’t truly fall in love with the subject until she studied abroad in Granada, Spain later in life. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from the International University of Valencia in Spain. Ms. Tanner lived in Andalusia, Spain for ten years teaching English before returning to the United States, where she taught Spanish at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers.

“I’ve been so impressed by the students at Xaverian,” she said. “They come to class ready to learn and are up for a challenge.”