By David Karas | Correspondent

What used to be known as Monsignor Donovan High School is now known as Donovan Catholic.

Officials in the Toms River school announced the refreshing of the school’s name to “Donovan Catholic,” rolling out the launch of a strategic planning campaign and a rebranding, of sorts, for the high school.

“The administration believes that those families who are interested in Catholic education will be attracted to and curious about the benefits that Donovan Catholic offers,” said Madeline Kinloch, a 1973 graduate and director of advancement and alumni relations, in sharing insights from the school’s administrative team.

The name refresh had been discussed for years, she said, with firm plans beginning in March among members of the school’s marketing team, assisted by a consultant.

“The marketing committee believes that ‘Donovan Catholic’ represents a strong, clear and vibrant title,” she said.

Edward Gere, school principal, issued a letter on the school’s under-construction website July 22 explaining the rationale behind the new name.

“…Donovan Catholic is clearer, more succinct and more accurately reflective of the norms of today’s Church,” he wrote. “Moreover, ‘Donovan’ reflects our heritage, while ‘Catholic’ highlights in a single word our reason for being.”

He also introduced the school’s new tagline: “It makes a difference.”

“While always humble about the expertise of our faculty and the incredible track record of our graduates, I am proud to say ‘we do make a difference’,” he wrote.

“From its origins (in 1962 as St. Joseph High School) and continuing to the present day, the school remains as the only Catholic high school in Ocean County,” Kinloch said.

In addition to the refreshed name of the institution, school leaders have also embarked upon a new strategic planning process, entitled “Blueprint 2020,” which will capture and articulate the administration’s visions for the future of Donovan Catholic. The plan will include several action steps to ensure goals are met, Kinloch said, and officials are already in the process of redesigning the school’s website to make it more accessible and user friendly.

“The refreshing of the name,” says Kathy D’Andrea, vice principal, “is only the jumping off point for a strategic plan to bring Ocean County’s only Catholic high school to the forefront of innovative educational practices.”

Over the next several years, D’Andrea explained, school leadership will work through the Blueprint 2020 plan to bring greater name recognition to Donovan Catholic, update teaching and learning technologies, evaluate for potential implementation the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, fund an on-campus performing arts center, design model classrooms and expand the institution’s reputation for global learning – among other things.

“Blueprint 2020 describes the school’s vision for the future and the systematic steps necessary to make it a reality,” she said.

Looking to the upcoming school year, Father Scott Shaffer, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, and director of Donovan Catholic, remarked on how the Donovan Catholic school leadership “has a compelling vision for the future and a systematic approach to creating that future. As people begin noticing some obvious cosmetic changes around the school, they should realize we are enhancing how students learn as well.”