R.J. Grey Search Committee Close to Selecting the School’s Next Principal

On Friday, March 2, 2012, parents received a letter from Principal Craig Hardimon via email. In it, Hardimon shared that he’d chosen to resign from his post of nine years effective June 30, 2012.

Hardimon stated that he had mixed emotions about the “difficult decision,” but that he was a finalist for high school principal in several school districts and intended to move on.

“I am ready for new challenges and experiences to grow professionally, and becoming a high school principal has been a long-term goal,” he wrote.

“This is a wonderful school and an outstanding school district to work in; I have felt honored to be your principal,” he said in closing.

Marie Altieri, Director of Personnel and Administrative Services for both thel local and regional schools, assembled a panel of administrators, teachers and parents to conduct the search for Hardimon’s replacement.

The committee, which is being chaired by Altieri, includes the following members:

• Alixe Callen, ABRHS Principal

• Chris Renzi, PTSO Co-Chair

• Marc Lewis, Acton Education Association Representative and 7^th Grade Social Studies Teacher

• Karoly Baglio, R.J. Grey Special Educator

• Rick Cowen, R.J. Grey School Psychologist

• Deb Rimpas, R.J. Grey Health Instructor

• Maureen Lin, 7^th Grade English Teacher

• John Edmonds, 8^th Grade Science Teacher

• Marcia Charter,  R.J. Grey Office Manager

• Alkesh Shah, Parent

• Torri Horovitz, Parent

After reviewing 35 applicants’ resumes, the committed chose seven candidates for interviews. These took place during the first two weeks in April.

Last week, a message from Superintendent of Schools, Steve Mills, was sent out to parents via the ABRPTSO email list.

“I am pleased to announce two finalists for the position of Principal of the R.J. Grey Jr. High School,” wrote Mills, who explained that both Andrew Shen and Purnima Vadhera are being considered for the post.

The following summaries of the candidates’ qualifications were provided by Mills:

• Andrew Shen has been the Assistant Principal of R.J.Grey for the last four years. Prior to coming to AB, Shen was the Associate Dean and Director of the Asian American Center at Northeastern University. He taught Social Studies for several years at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.  Shen has a B.A. in Educational Policy, a Masters in Teaching from Brown University, and an M.Ed. in School Leadership from the Harvard University School of  Education.

• Purnima Vadhera has been the Interim Principal of the K-8 Healey School in Somerville since August of 2011. She successfully led two schools through their first year of unification. Prior to Healey, she was an Assistant Principal at Newton South High School for four years. Vadhera has eleven years of experience teaching Biology at Brighton and Brookline High Schools. She founded the Bal Vihar at Fay School for Indian families in Southborough as well as the Educators for Teaching India Organization between Harvard University and various school districts. Vadhera has a B.A. in Biology and a B.S. in Science Education from Boston University as well as an M.A. in Education Administration, Planning and Policy from Harvard University.

Next week, both candidates will be visited at their respective sites and spend time at R.J. Grey meeting with staff and interested parents.

Shen’s faculty meeting will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. He will meet with parents at 4:00 p.m. that day in the school’s library.

Vadhera will meet with faculty at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Parents may meet with her at 4:00 p.m. in the school’s library.

Announcement of the decision will be made the following week, on or about May 1, 2012.

The new principal will start on July 1, 2012.

Hardimon recently accepted the position of Principal at Marlborough High School, an opportunity he called “thrilling.”

When asked to name his most significant contribution in Acton, Hardimon said, “I am proud of how R.J. Grey has committed itself to continued high achievement while broadening support systems for students at risk. We have built some specialized programs for students with special needs that have kept those students connected to their home community while addressing their specific needs.”

“I am also proud of initiatives that have supported all students: respect for human differences, stress management, and safety. The transition to trimesters have allowed teachers to do more uninterrupted teaching and for students to learn in a less stressful atmosphere. New initiatives for transitional programming, 6th to 7th and 8th to 9th grades have insured success-based programming for all,” he added.

As far as advice for his successor, Hardimon said,” I hope that the work of understanding our changing community demographic will be resurrected to continue the dialog regarding educational values, academic expectations, and cultural differences.”

“RJG is a wonderful school," said Hardimon. "We have a dedicated and talented group of teachers. We have involved parents and guardians with high expectations.  We have motivated students. I want my successor to know that in order to preserve the culture of RJG, ongoing advocacy for the resources this school needs is paramount.”