Hugh and Jean Armstrong don’t just “support” Escuela de Guadalupe; they’ve helped shape it across decades, offering the kind of steady, behind-the-scenes work that rarely makes headlines but changes a school’s future.
Their story with Escuela began through another beloved Catholic institution: St. Mary’s Academy. The Armstrongs’ daughters attended St. Mary’s, and as Jean and Hugh immersed themselves in service there, they kept hearing about a new school in northwest Denver with an unusually bold vision. At the center of that bridge between communities was Sister Susan Swain, a Sister of Loretto who served at St. Mary’s and helped recruit early champions for Escuela. Alongside a Jesuit priest, Fr. Tom Prag, Sister Susan co-founded Escuela de Guadalupe, and she was, in many ways, the connector who introduced families like the Armstrongs to a school that was still becoming itself.
“Everything about it just spoke to me.”
Jean’s first impression of Escuela wasn’t complicated, and it was immediate.
“I thought it was amazing,” she said. “To be able to offer an excellent education to kids who wouldn’t otherwise have that opportunity is so important.”
She was struck by the dual-language model, the involvement of parents, and the sense that the school wasn’t simply offering academics, but building something rooted in dignity and belonging.
“Everything about it just spoke to me,” she said. “It’s really a blessing to the community.”
That resonance turned into action. Sister Susan eventually asked Jean to join the Escuela board and Jean said yes.
Hugh’s story begins in Belfast
If Jean’s introduction to Escuela was a clear-eyed “yes,” Hugh’s connection runs even deeper, woven into his earliest memories of what education can mean in a life.
Hugh grew up in Belfast, Ireland, in a poor neighborhood during The Troubles. In his words, it was “our civil war,” a time when community identity, culture, and faith could determine whether you were safe and welcomed, or pressured to disappear into someone else’s system.
“Education was what enabled me to move forward,” Hugh said. He described how few people in his neighborhood finished high school, let alone went to college. For example, he explained the exam process that separated students into a more college-prep “grammar school” track versus a “secondary school” path designed to funnel young people into the workforce early, sometimes by age 16.
But Hugh’s reflections didn’t stop at opportunity. They went to identity.
In Belfast at the time, he said, the school system was “a British school system,” and if you considered yourself Irish, bringing Irish cultural aspects into education was not welcomed. “That’s all changed now,” he noted, “but back then, that’s what it was.”
That’s why Escuela’s mission struck him so powerfully: it is education that moves students forward without asking them to change who they are.
“Being able to get an education and move forward without losing your cultural background,” Hugh said, is what made Escuela “really interesting to me.”
A legacy of service—rooted in education
The Armstrongs’ board service tells a story of both loyalty and strategic follow-through: Jean served on Escuela’s board while Hugh served on the St. Mary’s board. When they both ended their terms, they essentially switched places—Hugh moved to Escuela’s board, and Jean continued her service at St. Mary’s.
Together, they have a combined 16 years of board leadership at Escuela.
What makes their commitment especially remarkable is how deeply intertwined their service has been across two schools. While Jean was on the Escuela board and still very involved at St. Mary’s, she watched the progression of Escuela students who went on to attend St. Mary’s. She saw how well-prepared they were, and how their readiness and character impressed St. Mary’s community.
Students who are poised—and proud
If you ask Hugh and Jean what stands out most about Escuela’s students, they will talk about poise and confidence. They see students who speak with clarity, who walk with purpose, and who show up in new environments knowing they have a right to be there.
They believe that confidence comes from a deep, daily message Escuela gives its students: you don’t have to change who you are to succeed.
In Hugh’s words, that’s the difference between education that simply opens doors, and education that opens doors while honoring identity. For him, this isn’t theoretical. It’s personal.
How they met—and what they bring
Jean and Hugh met through their careers at Price Waterhouse, and their professional lives eventually brought them to Denver. That shared foundation in finance became a practical gift to the schools they served. Both Armstrongs bring strong financial expertise to every boardroom they enter… skills that matter in any nonprofit, and especially in a school that is building long-term sustainability.
Their community involvement has been overwhelmingly education-based, rooted in the belief that schools change the trajectory of families and communities. Jean also carries a deep love of the arts, including involvement with organizations like Colorado Ballet, an appreciation shaped in part by her family story. Her father owned a costume company that served New York City’s Broadway productions, a connection that left her with an enduring respect for artistry, excellence, and the discipline behind performance.
Watching Escuela grow up
The Armstrongs have had a front-row seat to Escuela’s big moments, and they speak about them with the affection of people who remember when those moments were only hopes.
They have watched the school move and grow, open the middle school, strengthen its financial footing, achieve ACIS accreditation, and now begin the important work of launching an endowment. Hugh, with the wry humor of a finance-minded board member who has seen it all, laughs at what it means to finally be talking about investments and creating committees that are focused on managing assets: “We have money to invest for the future? What?!”
After all those lean years, it’s a sign of how far the school has come.
Pride in alumni—and the future
Their pride extends beyond the school building to the young adults Escuela sends into the world. They point to alumni success stories (like Luis Sosa) and they beam at the fact that Escuela alumna Jennifer Godoy is now serving on the board. For the Armstrongs, that’s the ultimate mark of a mission fulfilled: students who not only thrive, but return to lead.
In the end, Hugh and Jean Armstrong’s commitment isn’t about titles or terms. It’s about the kind of faith that shows up, stays, and keeps saying yes, because they’ve seen what happens when a school insists that children can rise without leaving themselves behind.
