Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – Carol Ripken, who has been principal of St. Mark’s High School since June 2012, will return to her previous post as associate superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office effective July 1, superintendent Louis De Angelo announced Monday.
Ripken said the decision to leave the principal’s position left her with “mixed emotions.”
“Though it was very difficult for me to come to this decision, I believe that the time for this transition – which was planned from the beginning – is now,” she said Tuesday. “I have every confidence that St. Mark’s will continue to rise to new heights.”
According to De Angelo, under Ripken’s guidance St. Mark’s has “mapped a plan to build on the strengths and address the challenges for the future.” She has led the school through a greater emphasis on faith formation, strong academic initiatives, ongoing professional growth opportunities for faculty and significant improvements to the physical plant.
Ripken will remain at the school until a new leader is in place, she said. She will continue her efforts to ensure the future health of St. Mark’s when she returns to the diocesan office.
Ripken, St. Mark’s sixth principal, came to the Diocese of Wilmington as associate superintendent of schools in 2009. She previously served as principal at the Institute of Notre Dame and John Carroll High School in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She was also an associate superintendent of schools there.
