Mr. Dennis Ruggiero is starting his 14th year at St. Pius X. Before coming to St. Pius X he taught at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami Florida where he was born and raised. Mr. Ruggiero received his B.A. in Religious Studies from Florida International University (FIU) in 1987, and received his M.A. in Theology from Barry University in Miami in 1993. In his 20 years as a Catholic educator, Mr. Ruggiero has taught Church History, Morality, Marriage and Family, Sacramental Theology, and is currently teaching Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Scriptures. In 2001, he received the “Teaching of Excellence” award from St. Pius X.

In addition to his theology background, Mr. Ruggiero has been teaching Holocaust and Genocide for the past five years. In 2001 he became an Alfred Lerner Fellow from the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. In 2004 he was selected to study in Germany and Poland and in 2005 was selected to go to Israel through the Bearing Witness program sponsored by the ADL and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Also in 2005 he was awarded the Distinguished High School Educator of the Year by Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.

Mr. Ruggiero also is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and is a certified USA Weightlifting Club Coach. He coached football for the Golden Lions for eight years and has been involved and strength training, agility, and functional movement for 15 years. He also coaches at Velocity Sports Performance in Roswell where he runs the College Elite Program.

Mr. Ruggiero has been married to his wife Margo for 19 years. They have two children; Alexandra (12) and Jacob (7).