By Gretchen Keiser

	Sister Dawn Gear

ATLANTA—Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, has resigned as principal of Our Lady of Mercy High School, which is scheduled to open in Fairburn this fall.

The Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart, who was founding principal of St. John Neumann Regional Catholic School in Lilburn and of The Donnellan School in Atlanta, has been in place since Aug. 1, 1999 to be the first principal of the archdiocesan high school opening on the south side of metro Atlanta. Her decision was announced May 15. She will remain in the post through June 30 and hopes to stay in Atlanta.

In a statement, Sister Gear said that she has the support of her order and will “take time to reflect and consider where my educational career will take me.”

“Throughout my Religious life I have consistently supported Catholic education and I hope to continue in this ministry,” said Sister Gear, an educator in the archdiocese for 25 years. “I am hoping to study and to search for new possibilities for my future endeavors.”

“Our Lady of Mercy High School is a beautiful facility and I am certain this new Catholic high school will experience much success in all areas for the students in south Atlanta,” she said.

Sister Gear, who headed St. John Neumann from 1986-96, leading it to National School of Excellence stature, and who became the first principal of The Donnellan School in 1996, said she had “given it my best and my all.”

	Donald Sasso

Donald Sasso, Secretary for Education, has announced a search for a new principal.

“I want to express gratitude to Sister Dawn for her work on this project,” Sasso said. “We want to go about the business of finding someone to continue that work so that we can be assured of a bright future for Our Lady of Mercy High School.”

“We’re committed to opening the school and all the work Sister Dawn has done and all the work we will continue to do will be toward that end.”

Our Lady of Mercy and Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, the second new high school, are scheduled to open with ninth grades only and to add one upper grade each succeeding year.

Enrollment figures have not been announced.

Sasso said that the archdiocese hoped to open Blessed Trinity, a proposed 1,000-student school, with 250 freshmen and Our Lady of Mercy, a proposed 500-student school, with 125 freshmen.

“We are hoping to get as close to those numbers as possible,” Sasso said.

The new Secretary for Education, appointed by Archbishop John F. Donoghue in April to succeed Msgr. Terry Young, said the opening of five new Catholic schools in 1999 and 2000 has strained the system.

“With any system expansion like this, you are going to experience growing pains and we are experiencing them,” Sasso said. “I don’t think we’ve done a good job spreading the good news about these high schools. Much of my effort has been to see that we get that done.”

“We are working with a professional marketing firm that is very excited about joining us in the effort to maximize enrollment at our new high schools,” he continued.

“They feel, as we do, that we need to do much more work in telling the good news that we have beautiful, new, state-of-the-art high school facilities, that we are accepting applications for ninth grade for Catholic children and for children of other faith traditions, and that families who are interested in obtaining an application or more information should call the Office of Catholic Education.”

Sasso said tours of the new high schools for interested people are planned as soon as feasible. George Barrie, Catholic Construction Services president, anticipates that will be July 1 at the latest. Construction on both high schools should be complete in mid-June.

“We’re committed to these schools having a successful opening in the fall,” Sasso said.

The first principal of Blessed Trinity High School will be Frank Moore, a former dean of studies at St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, for 10 years and principal for the past two years of Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City. Moore, who holds a master’s degree in mathematics from Tulane University in New Orleans, also taught for 15 years at a Catholic school in Metairie, La.

Blessed Trinity is at the same site as Queen of Angels School and St. Peter Chanel Mission in Roswell. Our Lady of Mercy High School is located in north Fayette County adjacent to the south Fulton County line, at Highway 138 and Holyfield Highway.

For further information on the Catholic high schools, contact the Office of Catholic Education at (404) 888-7833.