Immaculate High School Recognizes New Board Members

DANBURY — Several local community leaders were recently appointed to the advisory board for Immaculate High School, a regional Catholic college-preparatory school. Bishop William E. Lori officiated the formal recognition of the following new members to the Advisory Board of Directors: Joseph Boa of Danbury, owner of DMC Property Management; James Driscoll III of Bethel; Msgr Thomas Driscoll of Easton, Pastor of Notre Dame Church; Theresa Eberhard of Danbury, former assistant principal of Whisconier Middle School in Brookfield; Jose Martinez of Brookfield; Richard Shanley of Redding, owner and president of Wear the Best; and Joseph Vannucci of Bethel, executive director of East Hill Woods and past president of Immaculate’s Parents Advisory Council

Edward Cardinal Egan, now Archbishop of the Diocese of New York, established the Advisory Board of Directors in 2000 when he was Bishop of Bridgeport. His aim was to provide the leadership to secure the future of Immaculate High School and guarantee the school’s underlying Catholic values, academic excellence, and financial stability. The current 23-member slate is divided into four committees: Development, Facilities, Finance, and Programs.

The Advisory Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers including presidents and CEOs of area corporations, business owners, doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors. The group has been meeting to assess the school’s current achievements as well as direction for future initiatives, including planning sessions with representatives of the faculty, Student Council, the Parents’ Advisory Council, and the Alumni Association.

According to Principal Joseph Gerics, “The Advisory Board is working to bring Immaculate High School to the next level. They have developed a strategic plan as a blueprint, to be modified as we go forward. We have a sense of where we would like to be and a direction for achieving these goals thanks to the deliberations of the board and the preparatory work by each committee.”

Nancy Dolan, vice president and business relationship manager of Newtown Savings Bank, chairs the Advisory Board. “Our planning sessions gives everyone an opportunity to talk about programs offered and additional programs that we might consider in the future,” she said. Ms Dolan worked with her late husband to chair the original Fundraising Committee that helped stimulate funds to build the school in 1961. “It is very exciting for me to be involved in this strengthening phase,” she said. “We were there at the beginning, and I have two children who have graduated from the school. It is a privilege for me to be involved with many people who have a deep love and feeling for the school. We have a desire to do what we can to enrich its advancement even further.”

Immaculate High School serves 22 Connecticut towns in the greater Danbury area and eight nearby New York towns. More than 400 students currently attend the school, 98 percent of whom go on to continue their education, 93 percent of them at four-year colleges. The school is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as the State of Connecticut.