Jones Takes Memories, Lessons From Howell to New Job in Plumsted District

For the first time in more than a decade when schools open in September, Karen Jones will be welcoming students back somewhere other than the Howell schools.

The former assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent in the district is now more than a month into her new role at the helm of the Plumsted Township School District.

As she leaves behind a K-8 district that has close to 7,000 students for a K-12 district with about 1,700 pupils, Jones said she is ready and excited for the challenges her new role presents.

After five years serving as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and personnel, Jones said she will take what she has learned in Howell to help her with her new job.

"I just got to the point in my career where this is what I aspired to," she said. "I was ready to become superintendent."

The decision to leave Howell was no easy choice, which made her search criteria that much more stringent if she was to go somewhere else.

"I was only looking in districts that I thought I would be comfortable in and comfortable leading, that would be nice districts like the one I came from."

Leading the district that includes New Egypt High School is a long way professionally from where she started as one of the first administrators at Middle School South when it opened.

From there she went on to be the principal at Aldrich School before being moved up to the district office. "I learned a tremendous amount about school level leadership and school district level leadership," she said of her time in Howell. 

It is the leadership shown by the district as a whole, that Jones said will help her considerably in Plumsted. "We've had opportunities to be in the forefront of assessment and the forefront of data driven decision making," she said. "Every kind of initiative that districts would aspire to have in place, we've had in place there and I've been a part of that for the last 12 years."

Even more than the accomplishments and achievements in the Howell district, Jones said she will remember the people she worked with and the memories they all left her with. That includes superintendent Enid Golden. "She was an amazing mentor to me and she's not just a colleague, she's a friend now," Jones said. 

Calling Golden "a role model," Jones said having worked with her in a variety of capacities, she will take the lessons she learned from Golden and all her former colleagues to help her in her new job. "Having worked in that district I've had tremendous opportunities to work with phenomenal colleagues," she said. "Just a phenomenal group of people and a very talented group."

For her part, Golden said she was sad to see her longtime colleague move on, but said it was a good fit for Jones.

"Dr. Jones is an outstanding educator and we were fortunate to have her share her talents with us for 12 years," she said. "Although she will be missed, it was obvious to me that she was more than ready to take the next step in her career. Plumsted is very lucky to have her as superintendent."

Having become a part of the Howell community and forming bonds that she will take with her long after she has left, Jones said she is now learning about her new environment.

That also includes learning about the proud Warrior tradition of the New Egypt High School athletic programs. She said she got a small taste of Warrior pride this past spring when before even starting the job she saw the girl's softball team end its season as Group I Champions.

"I think I started my Warrior pride right at that game," she said. 

Going from a district that ends in middle school to one that includes a high school will be a new experience for Jones, but one she said she is ready for. "It's a different dynamic and it's something I'm very excited about," she said. "It provides a whole different set of opportunities for me to grow and learn in the district."

She will not have to go far to see the Warriors compete, as her office is located in the high school. Jones said that will help her get to know the school and the students and be a hands on administrator.

And while she is looking forward to cheering on the Warriors, Jones said as a Cape Cod native she will not forget where she came from. "I'm still a Red Sox fan," she said with a laugh. "I told them when I had my first meeting, I just want to tell you that up front."

As she waits for the school year to start, Jones said she is looking forward to what she hopes will be a long and successful tenure in Plumsted.

"I've always been somebody that stays a while. I'm not somebody that comes in and leaves," she said. "I've told people when I began interviewing here that it felt like a fit right from the beginning and it does and for me that's important."