Merritt Hemenway, Principal of Damien High School

This week, Praying210 has chosen Merritt Hemenway to support and encourage through our thoughts and prayers.

a note from Merritt Hemenway

The 2014-2015 school year is my 47th in service to Catholic Education. The last 34 have been as the Principal of five different Catholic high schools: Bishop Amat 1981-1990; Cantwell 1990-1991; Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary 1991-1994; Santa Margarita Catholic High School 1994-2002; Bishop Amat High School 2002-2012; and Damien High School 2012-present.

Along the way I have been blessed to work in this ministry with hundreds of dedicated Catholic high school teachers. Over the years my professional work has focused on four general areas of expertise:

1) Catholic High School retreats - I have personally worked over 97 Kairos retreats and 18 Emmaus retreats for juniors in addition to many class level retreats. Bringing the students to a personal relationship with Christ is an important part of Catholic School Ministry.

2) Inclusive Catholic Schools - Over my career I have always taken an interest in students who struggle with learning. This has grown out of a passion developed through experiences as a parent with my own children. The National Catholic Education Association has used my work at Santa Margarita and Bishop Amat as a model that I have shared many times at the national convention.

3) Technology in education - My Doctoral Dissertation at Claremont Graduate University focused on the use of technology in support of learning. Over the years I have been focused on keeping my schools at the forefront of this area.

4) International Baccalaureate Programme - Since I was introduced to the IB Programme in 1995 I have been faithfully impressed with all aspects of what if has to offer education. When you gather the brightest minds in education world-wide in one place to discuss learning, amazing results occur. It is my hope that we can use many of the resources of the IB to enhance the program offered at Damien. Academic Preparation:

After high school I attended St. Mary's College of California located in Moraga. My graduate work was started at Cal State Los Angeles where I completed my Masters in Education as well as my teaching and Secondary Principal Credentials. (I also earned a credential in Adult Education which helped me greatly as I became a professional presenter on the topics above.) My Ph.D. was earned at Claremont Graduate University in 1999. My topic was the effect of the Internet on the teaching-learning process.