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Deborah Farrington, Ed.D.
Deborah Farrington, Ed.D.
Principal
Phone: 650-366-6127
Degrees
  • Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Stanford University
  • Master of Arts in Education, Stanford University
  • Master of Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
  • Doctorate in Education, University of San Francisco
  • CA Single Subject Credentials in Social Science, English, and Mathematics
  • CA Multiple Subject Credential
  • CA CLAD: Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development authorization

I want to briefly introduce myself, and I look forward to meeting every member of this wonderful community. I am delighted to continue my career as the Principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School. In addition to being an educator for the last 21 years, I am a mother, a wife, a lifelong learner, and a committed global citizen.

I’ve spent the last 17 years working at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton as a global studies and math teacher at both the middle and high school divisions. Five years ago, I left the traditional classroom to promote experiential learning as the founding Director of Global Education at SHS. I built SHS’s international student exchange program sending more than two hundred students around the world for global immersions and hosted numerous international faculty and student groups. Extending experiential learning, I initiated relationships with two global online learning consortiums enabling students to take alternative courses for academic credit. At SHS I was also actively involved in Service Learning and Campus Ministry, and I spent many summers living with RSCJ nuns and volunteer teaching at Sacred Heart schools in Uganda, Kenya, India, as well as other communities in Peru and Palestine. Prior to my work at SHS, I worked at JLS Middle School in Palo Alto Unified School District, Oak Avenue Elementary School in Los Alto School District, and La Entrada Middle School in Las Lomitas Elementary School District. My most fulfilling memories are opportunities when I witnessed students’ personal growth as a process of facing challenges, overcoming fears, and opening themselves to new cultures and people.

I earned my Doctorate in Education at the University of San Francisco School of Education, focusing on Human Rights Education, in the International and Multicultural Education Department. I have both a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University and a Master of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. I hold California Single Subject teaching credentials in Social Science, English, and Mathematics, California Multiple Subject teaching credential, and a CLAD: Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development authorization. I am committed to lifelong learning.

I have three children. Daphne is an Emergency Medicine doctor at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and she is bilingual in Spanish and has been a dedicated volunteer at Puentes de Salud, a clinic with a mission to serve the health care needs of uninsured immigrants. Rocky is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan, and he is researching advanced technologies for personalized treatment of lung cancer. Diego, my step-son, has a B.A. in Classics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and he is a food and entertainment professional living in Sacramento. My husband of 17 years, Amado Padilla, Ph.D., is Chairman of the Developmental and Psychological Studies program at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. I am the third of of six siblings, two sisters live nearby in San Jose, and my mother lives in Campbell. I expect that some of you will meet my mother, Ann, as she loves to visit me and meet the young folks with whom I work.

I hope to bring my deeply-rooted JOY of faith, learning, service, community, and personal growth to my work at Mount Carmel. Cheers to a wonderful year together!

Denise Uhl