President & Principal

The President/Principal model is found in roughly 55% of Catholic and private high schools in America. Morris Catholic began this model in the late 1990's under Fr. Paul Manning as he became the first President within the model. Fr. Paul was succeeded by Mrs. Judy Berg and in 2009 by Michael St. Pierre until 2016. Dr. Robert Stickles served as interim President until June 2017 and has been succeeded by Fr. Peter Clarke.

Fr. Peter Clarke, Ed.D., President

Fr. Peter Clarke, upon graduating from St. Mary's Seminary and University in 2004, was ordained a Priest on May 29, 2004 by Bishop Rodimer. He was then assigned to St. Vincent DePaul Parish in Stirling, NJ as Parochial Vicar. Two years later, Fr. Peter was assigned to DePaul Catholic High School as Chaplain. In 2011, Fr. Peter was then appointed Principal of St. Brendan Catholic School in Clifton, NJ.

Before entering the seminary, Fr. Peter graduated from Centenary College in 1997 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. In 1999, Fr. Peter graduated from New York University with a Master of Arts in Education Administration. In 2004, he graduated from St. Mary's Seminary and University with a Master of Arts in Theology. Upon completion of his dissertation, Fr. Peter graduated from The College of St. Elizabeth with a Doctorate in Educational Leadership in May 2018.

Mrs. Debra Ostrowski, Principal

As Morris Catholic prepares for the 2022-2023 school year, we have much to celebrate as we welcome Mrs. Debra Ostrowski as our new principal.

We are fortunate our thoughtful, methodical and selective search process brought us dozens of qualified applicants, but we are truly blessed with the unparalleled experience Debra will deliver to Morris Catholic. She formerly served as a teacher, administrator and principal within public schools for over three decades, retiring in 2019 from the nationally-ranked Livingston School District. In addition to creating and leading successful professional development opportunities for faculty, Debra was instrumental in writing extensive curriculum modifications designed to exceed rigorous growth and achievement objectives for students. Her guiding principles for success throughout her tenured career have been rooted in decisions based on what is best for student growth, reflection and well-being.

In 2019, Debra sought an opportunity to transform her craft into a ministry within the world of Catholic Education. She joined School of St. Elizabeth in Bernardsville as principal for Pre-K - 8 grade and began her journey fostering faith-based education while developing student discipleship in Christ. In her three years at St. E’s, Debra embraced the school’s mission of excellence without boundaries, while successfully navigating a global pandemic for the first time. Debra led an extremely smooth transition to virtual learning in March of 2020, after previously ensuring St. E’s technology platforms were upgraded with state-of-the-art resources for students and teachers. Her successes over the first few months of the pandemic easily showcased her role as a leader in the Diocese of Metuchen, creating best practices and roads to success for other Pre-K - 8 schools. Her tireless commitment to curriculum growth, teacher development and analysis of assessment data never wavered amidst a myriad of COVID outbreaks, quarantines and other hurdles. Her background in instructional supervision helped assemble a cohesive team of expert faculty who collaborated through strategic professional development plans designed to enhance scaffolding instruction through elementary and middle school.

Debra embraced the importance of communication and building partnerships with student families, and realized the importance of effective marketing in elevating the school’s reputation, leading to growth in admissions and demand for applications. Her fiscal precision helped implement a successful building-based budget to contain costs and maximize operational revenue. In addition to implementing “The Art and Science of Teaching” as a new instructional model for teachers, Debra also ensured student and staff safety measures by updating school-wide emergency management plans.

As she joins Morris Catholic, Debra’s role will be instrumental in developing 21st century skills for our students. Her reflective practices will enable our high schoolers to embrace and emulate real-world situations, developing enhanced executive function abilities. One of her primary goals is to build the spiritual and character growth of our students, developing young adults who are prepared to move forward as successful, well-rounded leaders. We are so excited to embrace Debra’s strength as a leader with no limits on our success, and we know her guidance will be an integral part of Morris Catholic’s growth in the immediate future. This is a pivotal time for Catholic Education, and as more families choose faith-based education we are so fortunate and blessed with the opportunity to excel under such experienced, dedicated and professional leadership.