Dear Members of the Sacred Heart Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am excited to announce the permanent appointment of Micheline Dutil-Hoffmann as the Academy of the Sacred Heart’s Head of School.  

Mrs. Dutil has over thirty-six years of experience as a teacher, Vice-Principal, Principal, and Head of School, thirty-three of which have been in Catholic education. Most importantly, she has spent the last five months serving as our Interim Head of School.  

Over the last five months, the entire Sacred Heart Community has gotten to know both Mrs. Dutil and her husband Gordon. Since Mrs. Dutil arrived in New Orleans in August, she has managed school through a leadership change, a pandemic, the ongoing renovation of the Rosary Campus, and Hurricane Ida. As we are all aware, Mrs. Dutil has performed flawlessly and brought our Community together despite the difficult challenges that she has faced. Her love, enthusiasm, experience, and management style immediately bonded her with our community.

On a typical day, Mrs. Dutil can be seen greeting students and staff as they enter campus, meeting with teachers and administrators to help improve our instructional practices, managing our ongoing renovations, raising funds, meeting with parents, sitting in on classes, spending time getting to know our students, and closing out the day visiting with students as they head home for the evening. 
 
She has proven to be a hard-working, hands-on administrator who is extremely visible, approachable, and engaged. In a short period of time, she has enmeshed herself in our Sacred Heart Community and the entire Community has benefited from her love, enthusiasm, and leadership. Combining her personality and management style with her knowledge of school administration, global education, and cutting-edge educational practices, Mrs. Dutil has proven herself to be the perfect candidate to serve as Sacred Heart’s Head of School.  

Mrs. Dutil’s selection is the culmination of a comprehensive national search process supported by Carney, Sandoe & Associates that involved participation from many members of our school community over the past six months. In sessions with parents, parents of graduates, students, faculty, administration, alumnae, and trustees, and over 500 responses to the Head of School Search Community Survey, Sacred Heart stakeholders expressed their expectations for the next Head of School. This input guided the Board of Trustees in setting priorities for the search: a visionary leader and institution builder with a deep commitment to our mission and a passion for education; an approachable leader who engages with all constituents in a joyful and mutually respectful manner; and a leader committed to Sacred Heart’s core values and traditions. Mrs. Dutil’s experience and management style fits squarely within the stated expectations of our Community.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank the entire Sacred Heart community for their engagement, support and guidance in this search process. I also want to express our gratitude to the Search Committee, which included Graham Ralston (Chair), Phillip May, Kay Favrot, Mark Romig, Wil Jacobs, JP Hymel, Sr. Vicky Rajca, Betsy LaBorde, and Ellen Manning, for their dedicated efforts to find the best leader for our school.

Sacred Heart is truly blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know Mrs. Dutil, and we look forward to continuing to work with her as we continue to improve the Sacred Heart experience for all of our stakeholders, most importantly the students who have been entrusted to our care.

Sincerely,

Lawrence R. DeMarcay III
Chairman, Board of Trustees