Students at Saint Mark’s High School will be greeted by a new principal when they return to school at the end of the month. It just won’t be the one they heard about.
Eileen Wilkinson is moving to the principal’s office and will be the educator welcoming students Aug. 26 when they return to the Diocese of Wilmington high school campus on Pike Creek Road.
Diocese Schools Superintendent Lou De Angelo announced Thursday the appointment of Wilkinson as interim principal effective immediately. The former Saint Mark’s faculty member had been set to start work as assistant principal.
De Angelo this week learned John Camponelli was stepping down as principal six weeks after he began work in the job and less than two weeks before school is set to open. He informed De Angelo he accepted a role in public education in Delaware. Camponelli agreed in March to replace Stephen DiGennaro, who was finishing an interim term as principal at his alma mater. Camponelli’s last day is tomorrow.
Former St. Mary Magdalen elementary school principal Patrick Tiernan began work this month as the next president of Saint Mark’s, replacing Tom Fertal, who announced his departure as president earlier this year.
De Angelo also announced Carlo Testa, former principal at St. Elizabeth High School and St. Peter the Apostle School, will serve as interim assistant principal at Saint Mark’s. Both Wilkinson and Testa will join Tiernan in leading Saint Mark’s High School this year, and a search for a permanent principal will begin in early 2025, De Angelo said.
“Plans continue to be well on track for the successful opening of the 2024-2025 school year,” De Angelo said. “Our administrators, faculty and staff are ready to welcome students back to school to grow in faith, excellence and service this year.”
“Your continued support, sacrifices, and prayers are always genuinely appreciated as Saint Mark’s High School ‘inspires young men and women to create a better world, one more pleasing to God and more helpful to others,’” he said.
