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New Beginnings!
posted on 07/28/10 @ 04:47pm
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 2010-2011 school year!
Mercy Vocational High School has the unique distinction of being the only Catholic, co-educational, academic/career-oriented high school in the United States. Throughout 2011, the Sisters of Mercy, who are the sponsors of Mercy Vocational High School, will celebrate 150 years of service to the people of Philadelphia. The roots of the Mercy Community began in North Philadelphia when Mother Patricia Joseph Waldron and nine other Sisters of Mercy arrived on a hot August day in 1861. Within ten days the Sisters began teaching at Assumption parish school, Broad and Spring Garden Streets, established the Academy of the Sisters of Mercy and a night school for working women.
By 1863 the Sisters purchased property at Broad Street and Columbia Avenue (now Cecil B. Moore Street), established their Motherhouse and relocated the academy and night school to this site. In 1947 the Academy of the Sisters of Mercy moved to Gwynedd Valley and was renamed Gwynedd Mercy Academy. It was at the Broad and Columbia site that Mercy Technical School, a three-year trade school, was founded in 1950. By 1972 Mercy Vocational High moved to its present location on Hunting Park Avenue and became a four-year academic/career/technical school, awarding high school diplomas and certificates of competency in every vocational area of instruction.
We join with all the Sisters of Mercy in recognizing the legacy of those early Sisters of Mercy who began their varied ministriesy not too far from the present location of Mercy Vocational High School. 150 years later, in the midst of many demographic, societal and economic changes, they and their lay colleagues have remained, and have expanded their ministries to include education at every level, healthcare, housing and social services to the people of God throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
This year we at Mercy Vocational High School celebrate 60 years of providing a valued alternative to a comprehensive academic program to the young people of Philadelphia and the surrounding area. You, as parents and students of Mercy Vocational High School, have become members of a unique learning community. A partnership such as ours always involves good communication, strong support and mutual respect.
You have chosen Mercy over other educational alternatives because you appreciate the success that accompanies a Mercy Vocational diploma. I can assure the parents of our students that the administration, faculty and staff are committed to supporting your sons and daughters as they begin their high school experience and throughout their four years at Mercy. You could not have made a better choice!
Because Mercy Vocational High School is a private school, it has, by its very nature, high expectations of our students. I ask you to reflect on the belief statements and goals contained in the Graduate Profile of the Parent/Student Handbook. Begin working today to become the young women and men God intends you to be. Invest in your future. Develop values and attitudes that will become the foundation for your lives as devoted family members, loyal and skilled employees, compassionate neighbors and responsible citizens.
May God continue to bless you and your families as you join this very special “Circle of Mercy”.
Sincerely,
Sister Rosemary Herron, RSM
President
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Sr. Rosemary Herron, RSM
Email: rherron@mercyvhs.org
Biography:
In the spring of 2007, the Board of Trustees recommended the appointment of Sister Rosemary Herron to the position of President of Mercy Vocational High School, and this appointment was affirmed by the Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, MidAtlantic Community, effective July 1. 2007. Sister Rosemary had been the Principal of Mercy Vocational High School since 1997.
In this two-tired model of administration, the President takes on the overall leadership of the school as well as the non-academic responsibilities of institutional finances, management and advancement, maintenance of the facilities, recruitment, communications and public relations. Mercy Vocational High School moved to a governance structure of a Board of Trustees in 1997, and Sister Rosemary is directly accountable to the Board for the advancement of the school’s mission. Mercy Vocational High School became separately incorporated in 2000.
During her ten years as principal, Sister Rosemary restructured the administrative team of Mercy Vocational High School and collaborated with them to provide for recruitment of students, more effective supervision and guidance, enhancement of school ministry, and an ever-growing development program. Also during these years the McAuley Program for students needing learning support, and additional vocational shops including the Certified Nursing Assistant Program, HVAC and Computer Technology were added to the education offerings. In collaboration with the Board of Trustees, Sister Rosemary implemented the first five-year Strategic Plan in 1999. Mercy Vocational received Middle States accreditation in 1999 and was fully re-accredited in May, 2007. Mercy Vocational is now in the midst of a new strategic planning process.
Sister Rosemary was born in South Philadelphia and is the oldest of eight children. She grew up in Southwest Philadelphia, attended Most Blessed Sacrament School, West Philadelphia Catholic High School and is a graduate of Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill. She received a B.A in History from Gwynedd Mercy College and an M.A. in Theology from the University of Dayton. She is permanently certified in both elementary and secondary education, and also holds a citation and certificate from the Catholic Healthcare Administrative Personnel Program.
Additional experiences include teaching middle school and junior high in the Archdioceses of Philadelphia and Miami as well as in the Diocese of Allentown. Sister Rosemary has been an evaluator and reader for Middle States, a member of the Screening Committee for Mercy Volunteer Corps, a member of the Advisory Board of Gwynedd Mercy High School and a Trustee of Grey Nun Academy. Presently she is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Advisory Board of St. Malachy School.
Prior to her ministry at Mercy Vocational High School Sister Rosemary was the principal of St. Elizabeth School, Whitehall, PA for four years and the principal of Gwynedd Mercy Academy for thirteen years. Sister Rosemary enjoys spending her free time with her siblings and eighteen nieces and nephews, reading, and traveling with her family and friends. Most of all, she loves her ministry at Mercy Vocational!
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