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Danbury Promotes Dan Donovan To Principal At High School

DANBURY, Conn. — Dan Donovan, principal of the Freshman Academy at Danbury High School, has been selected as the new principal of DHS, the largest high school in the state. 

Dan Donovan will take over as principal at Danbury High School at the end of the 2015-16 school year.

Dan Donovan will take over as principal at Danbury High School at the end of the 2015-16 school year.

Photo Credit: LinkedIn

Donovan will begin his new position July 1. He will replace Gary Bocaccio, who is retiring after working in the district since 1974.

Donovan began his teaching career in 1996 at Roberts Avenue Elementary School in Danbury before moving on to teach science at Broadview Middle School. He then served as assistant principal at DHS in 2004. 

Since that time, Donovan has led the high school’s Freshman Academy as its first principal. In this role, he has launched many successful initiatives for students, including this year’s new Danbury Early College Opportunity Program, the second program of its kind in the state to offer students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree from Naugatuck Valley Community College. 

“Dan brings that rare combination of an excellent rapport with the DHS community and a forward-thinking vision for high school programs that will continue our mission of preparing college- and career-ready students and launching them into our community to become successful adults,” said Superintendent Sal Pascarella. “As someone who has spent his entire career helping Danbury students to succeed, Dan was the perfect choice to move DHS into the future.” 

Donovan is a graduate of Iona College. He earned a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Bridgeport and his intermediate administrator’s certificate at Sacred Heart University; he is currently working toward his doctorate in organizational theory at Northeastern University. 

Last year, Donovan was selected to participate in LEAD Connecticut, a program sponsored by the state Department of Education and several local and national organizations; this program provides unique opportunities for select school leaders to study educational programming in successful schools nationwide. Its mission is to return with ideas to improve student learning locally. 

“Because of his participation in LEAD, Dan is now poised to position DHS for greater success, and I look forward to working with him to implement some of the many initiatives that he brings back to the district,” said Pascarella. 

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