Dear Cathedral Community,
At the end of this school year, after serving for seven remarkable years as Cathedral’s President, Dan Carmody has chosen to embark on a new career as an executive at New Story Schools, a nationwide organization serving students in diverse learning environments. As Dan shared with me, “serving Cathedral has been the honor of my lifetime and an experience that I will forever cherish.”
Similarly, we will cherish Dan’s transformational leadership and all that he has done in serving Cathedral scholars over the past seven years. Under Dan’s leadership, Cathedral has soared to new heights. Enrollment is up 25%, we’ve experienced tremendous academic growth, our graduation and college matriculation rates have remained off the charts, community partnerships have flourished, the Adopt-A-Student Foundation’s supporting endowment has grown dramatically through our Cathedral Now, Cathedral Forever campaign, the Daley Center for Campus Ministry is thriving, and most importantly, our Catholic mission, culture and community have become stronger than ever.
A huge part of Cathedral’s rise in stature during Dan’s tenure is due to the dedication, talent and creativity of the team that he retained and recruited to serve our high-potential scholars. As Dan would tell you, a huge part of Cathedral’s success is due to the expertise and sustained commitment of our Principal, Karl Danso. I am proud to announce that Karl will succeed Dan as leader of Cathedral High School on July 1st, ushering Cathedral into its second century of transformative impact.
We anticipate a very smooth and seamless transition from Dan to Karl, given how closely they have worked together over the past three years and how closely they are aligned on Cathedral’s mission. Karl is a proven and outstanding leader who prioritizes our scholars above all else, and he brings deep experience to his new leadership role.
After earning his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Boston College, Karl launched his career in Washington D.C. at St. John’s College High School, first as a teacher for six years and then as Dean of Students for three years. He returned to Boston to join Catholic Memorial as Vice Principal for four years. Dan then recruited him to serve as Cathedral’s Principal in 2023. Karl is an esteemed graduate of Boston College’s Lynch Leadership Academy, where he honed his leadership skills and built a network of colleagues and friends who are devoted to a common calling. We are blessed to have Karl, who is ready to step into a new and exciting role to lead our community and to continue our inspiring path of excellence and success.
We look forward to supporting Karl in his new chapter at Cathedral High School. We will be forever grateful to Dan for pouring his heart and soul into Cathedral, and for all that he has done for our school, especially for securing Cathedral’s financial future, tirelessly advocating for our scholars, advancing our Catholic mission, and building a great team of leaders and teachers.
Warm regards,
Robert A. O’Neill, Jr.
Cathedral High School Board Chair
