Mendham Township Elementary School Has A New Principal... Welcome Cara Allen

London and Maddie brought home the following Mendham Township Elementary School Principal Update in their backpack mail today, January 21, 2009:

"Dear Parents and Guardians,

In an effort to identify the very best leader for Mendham Township Elementary School, an extremely thorough process was conducted, which included interviews with administration and with a committee that was representative of the school community. Through these efforts, an outstanding educator and leader was identified whose credentials, experiences, and personality are a wonderful match for our school."

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Roxy's Report from the Mendham Township Home & School Association Meeting on Elementary School Principal Transition and Recruitment

Since we received the news on Halloween that our Mendham Township Elementary School Principal Michael Craver had resigned suddenly, there's been a great deal of concern and discussion among local parents, both about the reasons behind his departure, and the transition process. The leaders of our Home & School Association reacted quickly to our concerns, enlisting School Board President Mark Ford and members of the transition team to join the regularly scheduled HSA meeting this morning. The meeting was well attended by concerned parents, and I had trouble finding a parking space when I arrived at the school at 9:15am. Pushing the discussion of Fall Fundraiser ieas and Sally Foster wrapping paper profits to the end of the agenda, we got right to the subject of the transition.

School Board President Mark Ford started out by trying to calm our concerns about the transition and recruitment process, including:

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Rex and Roxy Attended Our First Mendham Township School Board Meeting Last Night to Welcome New Superintendent of Schools Kristopher Harrison

Last week, London and Maddie came home with a memo in their "backpack mail" announcing the good news that the Mendham Township Board of Education has hired a new Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Kristopher Harrison will join us on November 16th, directly from the South Orange/Maplewood School District, a district with over 5, 000 students, where he served in a number of capacities, most recently as Principal of Maplewood Middle School for five years.

Rex and I succeeded in getting one of our favorite teenage babysitters to keep an eye on London and Maddie last night, and we attended our first ever Mendham Township School Board meeting. The evening was uplifting. While the formal meeting lasted less than 30 minutes, Rex and I were both pleased and impressed with our new Superintendent of Schools, Kristopher Harrison, who greeted the two of us with a friendly smile and a firm handshake before taking the seat in front of us as the meeting started.

As he spoke, we learned that Kris Harrison is a charismatic leader who has a track record of getting and keeping teachers and kids excited about school, creating a collaborative environment that empowers teachers and gives them the tools they need to enrich the minds of their students. He spoke about his experience in bringing a school to life, and making it a place people want to be. Turns out he shares my concern that there are tremendous obstacles, economic and otherwise, that could cause our children to be the first generation that has not "done better" than their parents. Instead of accepting the obstacles as insurmountable, Kris Harrison appears to be up for the challenge of preparing our children to succeed, encouraging them to "make people's heads spin" (in admiration) as they leave our Middle School to enter Mendham High School and later the "real world."

Those of you who know me personally or who have heard me share my thoughts at various public "principal chats" at Mendham Township Elementary School know that my "agenda" focuses on the high end of academics, energizing a gifted and talented program before students reach the middle school. For too long, our schools' answer to "no child left behind" had been to slow down so everyone could keep up. Before Dr. Christine Johnson announced her resignation last Spring, she appeared to be on track to "raise the bar" of academic excellence in the Mendham Township Schools. Last night, Kris Harrison gave us every indication that he's the right guy to take over where Dr. Christine Johnson left off in her quest for academic excellence in the Mendham Township Schools.

Mendham Township School District Welcomes New Superintendent Kristopher Harrison

Last night, London and Maddie came home with the following exciting memo from the Mendham Township Board of Education in their "backpack mail":

In the Spring of 2008, the [Mendham Township] Board of Education embarked on a mission to hire a new superintendent. At that time, we solicited input from the community, faculty and staff to determine the qualities each desired in a new leader. After considering that input and undergoing a thorough screening process, we are pleased to announce that Mr. Kristopher Harrison has been appointed to th position of Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Harrison joins us directly from the South Orange/Maplewood School District, a district with over 5, 000students, where he served in a number of capacities, most recently as Principal of Maplewood Middle School for five years. Prior to that , Mr. Harrison served for two years as principal in an elementary school and was a middle school assistant principal for one year in the same district. When in the classroom, Mr. Harrison served as an elementary and middle school teacher in Clinton Township.

Mr. Harrison is noted as a highly regarded administrator who seeks to work in an engaging and collaborative manner with students, faculty, and the community -- key qualities you noted in your feedback. He has also demonstrated that he is a dynamic leader who will bring energy, passion and a sense of commitment to our school system so we can continue to build upon the excellent educational experience we as a community expect and our children deserve. Mr. Harrison has been recognized nationally for his educational leadership abilities by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), by being named an Emerging Leader. In this capacity, Mr. Harrison will collaborate with an international group of leaders to influence education-related legislation.

Mr. Harrison's first day with the district will be November 16, 2008. Through that time, Interim Superintendent Catherine Mozak will continue her great work. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Mozak for her leadership, experience and valuable judgment as Interim Superintendent. Thanks in large part to her, our schools got off to a great start this year and are in excellent position for a seamless leadership transition. Ms. Mozak has been a joy to work with and we will miss her.

Thank you for your Support.
Mendham Township Board of Education

Please join us in welcoming our new Superintendent at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 23, 2008 in the Elementary School Media Center.

I hope I can get a babysitter that evening, as I look forward to meeting our new Superintendent of Schools, Kristopher Harrison. Here's hoping he picks up right where Dr. Christine Johnson left off in her quest for academic excellence in the Mendham Township Schools.

9/19/08 update: Anonymous was kind enough to stop by and leave a link to a Maplewood site where the community is lamenting their loss and praising Kris Harrison's work as a principal there:
http://www.southorangevillage.com/vc/comments.php?DiscussionID=27844&page=1#Item_20