.png)
The Waldron Mercy Academy Board of Trustees has named Ann Marie Braca as the 11th principal the school’s 94-year history. She succeeds Nell Stetser, who stepped down in June after a 27-year career at Waldron Mercy, the last five as principal. Braca was installed on September 19, 2017 as a part of Waldron Mercy’s annual Mercy Day Mass, which has been a Mercy tradition for 190 years.
Braca joins the Waldron Mercy Academy community after an eight-year tenure as principal of Holy Family Regional School in Phoenixville, Pa., a consolidation of several elementary parish schools in the area. There, she improved students’ results on standardized tests and successfully led the school through its Middle States reaccreditation. With Braca’s leadership, Holy Family Regional School is now debt-free, and has a balanced budget and capital fund. The school raised funds to provide more scholarships to students. During her administration, Holy Family earned the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, an honor also bestowed twice on Waldron Mercy Academy.
“I truly appreciate the confidence Waldron Mercy Academy’s Board has placed in me,” stated Ann Marie Braca, who begins her leadership on the heels of Waldron Mercy’s commendation of a Service Learning Program of Distinction and in the 30th anniversary year of the merging of Waldron and Merion Academies into a co-educational elementary school. “Based on my personal experience, I value how students and their families benefit from more than a superior academic education in a Mercy-sponsored school. The spirit of Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy, and her charism transformed my career as an educator.”
Braca holds a master of science in education from Gwynedd Mercy University and a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University. She has served as a Trustee for the Board for the Foundation for Catholic Education and as a member of the Chester County Advisory Council for Catholic education.
Patch.com for Ardmore, Radnor, Haverford and Bala Cynwyd: https://patch.com/pennsylvania/balacynwyd/s/g8fuo/waldron-mercy-academy-appoints-new-principalCity
Suburban News (page 8): https://issuu.com/citysuburbannews/docs/csn_9_27_17_issue