Merrill Hawkins

Educator from the U.S.

Merrill grew up in the Boston area and attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine before she began teaching in 2003. Her first teaching job was at the Nativity Prep School in Jamaica Plain, MA. While teaching in this low-income, city school, Merrill earned two masters degrees at Boston College; one in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction, and the second in Reading and Literacy. After seven years at Nativity Prep, Merrill taught middle school at the Stoneridge Children’s Montessori School in Beverly, MA and at Cohen Hillel Academy in Marblehead, MA. Currently, she teaches English and social studies at The Park School in Brookline, MA where she is also a soccer, ice hockey and track coach.

Merrill was awarded a teaching fellowship to travel with OCI in June, 2014. In Koru, Merrill worked with teachers from standards 4-8 to help make their classes more interactive; implementing group work techniques and tips for teaching the writing process. She also worked on standardized test-prep study skills with teachers and students, helping them to create effective student-led study groups and scholarly habits.