News: New Diocesan Schools Superintendent Named

July 5, 2019

Bishop Richard Pates has named Donna Bishop as the new diocesan Schools Superintendent effective June 30.

“The Diocese of Des Moines is most fortunate in securing an individual such as Mrs. Bishop to succeed Dr. Tracy Bonday and carry forward the important initiatives she introduced,” said Bishop Richard Pates. “Mrs. Bishop is committed to solidifying the Catholic character of our schools and moving forward with the recently developed strategic plan. We feel fortunate that she will be part of the Diocese of Des Moines team.”

She recently led the Archdiocese of Omaha through a regionalization process that the Diocese of Des Moines is experiencing today, said Dr. Jerry Deegan, who led the search committee.

“Her experience and background will be an asset to the Diocese of Des Moines as we move forward with implementing our updated vision for our schools,” he added.

Her experience in Catholic education spans 36 years as a graduate, teacher, parent, coach, principal, executive director and assistant superintendent of Catholic schools. While serving the Archdiocese of Omaha Catholic Schools as Assistant Superintendent of 65 schools and Executive Director of the Consortium schools, she worked with multicultural populations.

In her most recent role as FACTS Education Solutions Title Manager, she assisted nonpublic schools across the country in using their federal education funds.

“I would be honored to have the opportunity to bring my experience of leading a nontraditional governance model in Catholic education to the Diocese of Des Moines,” she said.

She succeeds Dr. Tracy Bonday, who served for four years as the Des Moines diocesan Schools Superintendent.