January 31, 2024
Dear Families,
As you know, over the last several months, Ms. Christine Civitano has generously taken on the responsibilities of interim principal alongside all of her regular duties as Assistant Principal. Ms. Rosemary Eivers has also taken on additional work, and we have determined that a third administrator is necessary so that we can best meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students.
In order for Ms. Civitano and Ms. Eivers to both return their undivided attention to their responsibilities as Assistant Principals, we began to search for another experienced educator who could exclusively focus on the responsibilities of interim principal through the end of the academic year.
To this end, we approached Ms. Linda Dougherty, Associate Superintendent of Catholic Identity for the Archdiocese of New York, to inquire whether she would be able to serve in this capacity through June while Cathedral conducts its formal search for our next principal. After consulting with Superintendent Sister Mary Grace Walsh and other leaders in the archdiocese, Ms. Dougherty has accepted our invitation to serve as interim principal for the next five months beginning tomorrow, February 1.
For the last several weeks, Ms. Dougherty has had the opportunity to meet with many faculty, staff, and students and deeply understands and embraces the mission of Cathedral High School. Ms. Dougherty has over 40 years of experience in education in grammar schools, high schools, community colleges, and universities. Prior to working within the archdiocese, Ms. Doughtery served as principal for four schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn over a span of twenty-five years. She was also a classroom teacher in both public and Catholic elementary schools. Ms. Dougherty holds degrees from Fordham University, Boston College, Manhattan College, and Seton Hall University.
We are extremely fortunate that Ms. Dougherty will be supporting Cathedral High School over the next several months, and she looks forward to meeting with and getting to know many of you in the weeks ahead. We are also delighted to announce that Cathedral High School has officially launched its national search for our next principal with the firm Partners in Mission. As a first step, our search firm will conduct an enrichment visit on February 4 and 5, during which they will meet with several focus groups of alumnae, parents, students, and board members to learn about the Cathedral community more intimately. In addition, Partners in Mission will also conduct a digital survey for all members of the Cathedral community to offer their feedback on the ideal qualities of our next principal.
After Partners in Mission has presented several candidates, the search committee will conduct the initial rounds of interviews. The search committee is comprised of Ms. Annie Ortiz (Alumna from the Class of 2000 and P’25), Mr. Dominic Uwasomba (P’84 and ’88 and a science teacher at Cathedral for the last 40 years), Ms. Stacy Gee (Trustee of Cathedral High School and Chair of Finance Committee), Ms. Linda Dougherty, and Ms. Juliette Picciano. After the search committee has identified the strongest candidate or candidates, those individuals will have the opportunity to visit Cathedral High School and get to know our community in person.
We are grateful to each of you for coming together during this time of transition, and we look forward to staying in touch as the search progresses.
Sincerely yours,
Gina Fonti, Chair
Juliette Picciano, President