AMSA to remain without a principal
Neither finalist is deemed the right fit
AMSA likely will be without a principal for the remainder of the school year.
AMSA interim Executive Director Dr. Mary Ann DeMello announced on Saturday afternoon that she will not be hiring Dr. Christopher Lord or Joshua Romano, the two finalists for the school’s vacant principal position.
In an email to the school community titled “Principal Update,” Dr. DeMello informed parents, teachers, and students that, for the second time, she had come to the conclusion that no candidate put forward by search committees was the right fit for the job.
“I am disappointed to inform you that, after completing a very thorough process, we will not be offering a permanent contract to either finalist,” Dr. DeMello wrote.
The news comes after an extensive search and interview process spanning the past three months. That search was the result of a decision by Dr. DeMello on Nov. 4 not to hire any of three initial finalists for the principal position.
Dr. DeMello used similar language in explaining her decision in both instances, writing in November that her decision was “not based on qualifications alone, but also in seeking a principal that is the right fit to address AMSA’s current and future needs.” In Saturday’s announcement, she assured the community “that every effort is being made to secure a principal that meets the unique needs of our school.”
Dr. DeMello did not offer any specifics as to why Dr. Lord or Mr. Romano, who each spent an entire day speaking with teachers, students, and parents at AMSA before February break, proved the wrong fit.
Dr. DeMello wrote only that her “decision comes after much contemplation, review of stakeholder feedback, reference checks, ‘homework,’ and long deliberation.” She also professed an understanding that “this is disappointing and incredibly frustrating for all of us.”
Dr. Christopher Lord resigned as principal of Andover High School in December. He held the position for two and a half years.
Both candidates had apparent strengths and weaknesses.
Dr. Lord has 19 years of experience, including nearly a dozen years as a principal, but he was removed as principal at Shea High School in Pawtucket, R.I. in 2012 because of graduation rate problems and he resigned as principal at Andover High School in December for reasons that remain unclear.
Mr. Romano, meanwhile, has 17 years of experience in education and he is currently principal at Murdock High School in Winchendon. That job, however, is his first as principal and he has held it only since the beginning of the school year.
Mr. Romano found himself at the center of a bullying controversy last week, with news of the incident and his reaction to it documented in various local media outlets.
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After anonymous Murdock students posted bullying comments toward other students on two Twitter accounts, Mr. Romano sent a strongly worded email to the entire student body.
“To the pathetic cowards who chose to start and participate in this, you are warned I am coming for you and I am furious,” Mr. Romano wrote in the email, according to an article in Wednesday’s Worcester Telegram.
Some parents praised him for his strong action, but critics have disagreed with some aspects of Mr. Romano’s approach, particularly his statement that he has “more respect for insurgents I fought in Iraq than I do for people behind this Twitter account.” According to the Telegram, Mr. Romano, an Iraq War veteran, also said that if he had “to prosecute and suspend 50 students, so be it.”
If his response might be perceived as too strong, he said “he would prefer to err on the side of being clear.”
How much of this affected his chances of becoming AMSA’s next principal, only Dr. DeMello knows.
The one fact that remains is AMSA still does not have a principal—something that likely will not change during this school year.
Anagha Indic is one of two co-editors for The AMSA Voice and a member of the Class of 2015. Anagha is an avid learner in pursuit of an engineering career.
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Josh Sathyaraj • Mar 3, 2015 at 6:08 pm
In my opinion, Mr. Romano has a very solid stance on bullying that many people could get behind. He did not seem to take it too far, although I could see why some parents would get upset. In today’s society, parents (and students, for that matter) tend to be a bit more sensitive when it comes to disciplinary words or actions. However, Mr. Romano seemed to do the right thing in responding swiftly and harshly to the people behind that Twitter account.
Another quick thing that I would like to comment on is the topic of cyber bullying. In my opinion it is not a huge problem, because you can simply block the person, or exit the website. It is a lot different from bullying in real life, where there is no escape. To anyone that is reading this comment and is going through some cyber bullying situation, remember these two things. One is that you should not care at all about the negative things that people may say about you (unless you are the person being mean, obviously). The second is that if somebody is so scared to say something to or about you that they have to cower behind a screen and post it on Twitter, whatever they are saying is most likely not true. The fact that the person did not have the confidence to say something negative about you in person or in public shows that he or she is afraid. They are afraid that you, or anybody else, might stand up and tell them that they are wrong. Looking at it all from this perspective, the people that are doing the cyber bullying are the real pathetic souls. Do not let anything that you see about yourself on social media bring you down, because it is just a waste of your time. Let the “bullies” deal with their own internal problems on their own while you take the high road, and remember that you are better than them.
Anagha Indic • Mar 5, 2015 at 1:27 pm
I do agree with you that Mr. Romano did the right thing by taking a strong stance against the bullying case. Even though some of his words are threatening, he makes it clear that he will not tolerate such behavior. As for cyber bullying, I am not sure if simply blocking someone out will solve problems. Perhaps it will solve the “cyber” aspect of things, but I do think there is a whole face-to-face aspect of bullying (not necessarily verbal all the time) that goes hand in hand with it all. Nonetheless, thank you for your perspective on the issue.
Josh Sathyaraj • Mar 6, 2015 at 2:17 pm
I agree, the topic of face-to-face bullying is a tough thing to tackle. It’s a problem that sadly may never be fully solved.