CHANGE AT THE TOP
Merrill says time is right to retire as Sacred Heart principal
TROY, N.Y. » After dedicating more than four decades to the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese — the last 22 as principal of Sacred Heart School — Susan Merrill has decided now is the right time for her to retire.
“I had been considering retiring for a couple of years now,” Merrill said last week, “and I’ve always thought that I don’t want to be one of those people that is told, ‘You’re burned out and should considering leaving soon.’ I’ve loved every minute of my career, and I told my husband recently that I want to leave while I still love my job.”
Merrill, 63, admit-
ted she could work several more years if she really wanted, but she felt this was the right time to be able to travel and spend more time with her family, who she hasn’t been able to see as often as she wished due to the day-to-day demands of her career.
“This job is certainly very time-consuming,” she explained. “It’s not a 9-to-5 job. You’re on all of the time.”
She oversaw 174 students from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade in her final year at Sacred Heart, admitting the most enjoyable part of her job as a school administrator
has been interacting with students.
“First and foremost, my students are very special,” she said. “There is something about them, I don’t know if it’s something in the water here or what, but they are all very compassionate, accepting, joyful children.”
She also couldn’t say enough about the school faculty, many of whom have been there nearly as long as her.
“I am also very blessed to have a staff that just doesn’t want to leave, and I mean that in a nice way,” she explained. “They are very dedicated, and many of them have been here over 15 years now.”
Merrill said she has seen many changes within the
school community during her time as principal.
“The school curriculum has certainly changed,” she admitted. “We’re now teaching students more about health things, like not smoking or using drugs and sex education,” said Merrill. “Schools now are also updated with all this new technology because that is how we are teaching now.”
Running a private Catholic school has not been without its challenges, she said, with a major hurdle being a lack of the state and federal aid that helps fund public schools.
“Most of our revenue comes from either tuition or fundraising,” she said. “We do get some funding from the government, but it’s a fraction of what public schools receive. The donations that we get are a tremendous support and help for our school.”
Merrill was excited to announce her assistant principal, Devon Camenga, officially agreed to take over as principal. Merrill said she hopes the school will continue to operate smoothly and remain viable as the last remaining Catholic elementary school in the city following the closing of St. Augustine’s School at the end of the 2015-16 school year.
“Honestly, I am thrilled for him,” Merrill said of her successor. “He’s a young guy and has three children that come to school here. I don’t see him using this as any stepping stone. I can see this becoming his life.”