By Catholic Review Staff
The Institute of Notre Dame named Gail Donohue its new principal beginning in the 2012-13 academic year. Donohue takes the helm from Ann Seeley, who is retiring after directing the school for 12 years.
Donahue is currently the assistant principal of professional development at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney. She has served since 1995 on the school’s administrative team as a staff developer. Good Counsel is a 1,250-student, coeducational, International Baccalaureate school sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers.
According to a statement released by IND, Donahue is a national authority on curriculum design, faculty development and Catholic education. She was instrumental in transitioning Good Counsel from traditional, teacher-centered instruction to student-centered active learning, which has boosted advanced placement test scores.
“I believe Catholic school leaders today must maintain our Catholic identity in a faith-filled environment while grooming students for the 21st century,” Donahue said in the statement. “Leaders must find it in their power to develop character and to promote reading, writing, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication and digital information skills throughout the curriculum for students to be prepared for the global, challenging world of tomorrow.”
A School Sister of Notre Dame associate, Donahue has 34 years of teaching experience in Catholic schools, and consults nationally with schools on digital learning, new teacher training and block scheduling. She is an associate faculty member at Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she will complete a Ph.D. in educational leadership in May.
“(Donahue) is a visionary who also knows how to get things done,” said Institute of Notre Dame president Mary Funke in a statement, describing the new principal as “a lifelong learner whose mission is to bring education to others.”
The Institute of Notre Dame is the first U.S. college preparatory school established by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and the oldest Catholic girls’ high school in Baltimore, with about 350 students.
Copyright (c) May 1, 2012 CatholicReview.org