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By Kathi Stearns
Staff Writer
ATLANTA--After announcing that she would resign as principal of the
Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan School at the conclusion of the 1998-99 school
year, Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, has stepped down from her administrative
responsibilities effective Jan. 8.
The decision was collectively reached by Gareth Genner, the educational
consultant who will be guiding the school through this period of transition,
the Board of the Archbishop Donnellan School and Sister Gear as school
officials begin to plan for expansion and enhancement of their existing
programs.
Angela Naples, the assistant principal, has been appointed principal of the
lower school which serves students in grades K-4, and assumed administrative
responsibility for the entire school, effective Jan. 11.
Sister Gear was the founding principal of the Donnellan School and began
serving in that capacity in April 1995.
“The Board and the faculty are committed to continuing and building
upon the programs established by Sister Dawn,” said Msgr. Edward Dillon,
pastor of Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta, where the Archbishop Donnellan Preschool
is located. “We are deeply indebted to her for the five years she gave to
the Donnellan School. Our task now is to take what she has begun and work
together to bring it to even newer heights.”
Msgr. Dillon said the Board of the Donnellan School will begin a search for
a new principal/headmaster.
“It is much more important to find the right person to succeed Sister
Dawn rather than to find a successor quickly,” Msgr. Dillon said.
“Over the years Sister Dawn has put together a first-rate faculty and
administration. It will be hard to find someone to fill her shoes.”
Naples, a parishioner at Holy Spirit Church, has been a member of the
faculty at the Donnellan School since 1997. From 1985-96 Naples taught at the
Cathedral of Christ the King School, Atlanta. Naples earned her M. Ed. from
Mississippi College in 1985 and her B.S. in elementary education from the
University of Southern Mississippi in 1982.
“I have been with the Donnellan School for three years and began
assisting Sister Dawn during the planning stages in the spring of 1996,”
Naples said. “I have seen the school develop a strong foundation in
spirituality, academic excellence and overwhelming parental support. With our
outstanding faculty, I look forward to leading the Donnellan School in its
continued growth and development.”
Sister Rita Marie Raffaele, GNSH, who was Sister Gear’s administrative
assistant at the Donnellan School, has also stepped down.
The Donnellan School is a private, independent Catholic school serving
students in grades K-7.
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