Milford School Officials Name New Middle School East Principal

Students at Milford’s Middle School East will see a new face in the building this fall.

In announcement on Thursday, Milford School Superintendent Robert Tremblay said that John J. Hughes has accepted a two-year interim position as the school’s principal, effective Aug. 1.

The position was designated as interim due to the anticipated 2016 completion of the new Woodland Elementary school, as well as shifting of grade levels that will follow the project, officials said.

“Having Mr. Hughes join the Milford Public Schools’ leadership team is a wonderful opportunity both for the students and staff at Middle School East and for the district as a whole,” Tremblay said in a statement. “We are grateful for the expertise that he will bring to this interim position to help the town through this transition period until the newly-redesigned Woodland Elementary School is ready for occupancy in the fall of 2016.”

Hughes comes to the district with more than 40 years experience in public education as a teacher and administrator at the middle and high school levels, having spent much of his career in Natick.

In that district, he began as a middle school teacher and was later promoted to Vice Principal at the J.F. Kennedy Middle School before serving as principal for two decades. He later served as principal of Natick High School for eight years.

Most recently, he has served as an interim principal in Hamilton-Wenham. Hughes holds a BA and M.Ed in Administration and Supervision from Boston College, and has completed coursework in the National Ed.D Leaders Program at Nova Southeastern University. He has received several educational awards and is affiliated with the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Massachusetts Secondary School Principals.