Princeton’s Riverside School Will Get A New Principal

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Public Schools said Tuesday that they were in the process of selecting a new principal for Riverside School to replace outgoing principal Mark Shelley.

Shelley, who has been at Riverside since 2018, will leave in August and relocate to Pittsburgh.

Superintendent Carol Kelley said the district has interviewed a “number of strong candidates” for the job.

"We are looking for a principal who not only has a record of educational excellence but who also understands Princeton's commitment to equity and the unique programs provided for students at Riverside," she said.

Candidates will be interviewed by a committee of Riverside faculty and staff, district administrators, and community members. Committee members include educators with experience and expertise in special education, said Michael J. Volpe, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources.

The advisory committee will submit a list of finalists to Kelley who will then have the candidates visit Riverside's summer programs. Kelley will then interview individual candidates and make a recommendation to the Board, the district said.

During the interim period, Eric Csolak, District Supervisor of Student Services (PK-5), will be the acting administrator at Riverside. Csolak is already working with Shelley, and will assist the new principal during the transition period, the school district said.

Shelley will be moving to Pittsburgh after his wife accepted an offer to be the senior pastor at Shadyside Presbyterian Church. "I am excited to become the Executive Director for Academics for Grades 6-12 at the Environmental Charter School there," Shelley said in a statement.

The family will be relocating after 12 years in Princeton. "We have treasured our life and work in Princeton for the past 12 years, and I will surely miss our students, our teachers, our support staff, and our parents," Shelley said in a letter to the school community.

"I certainly hope to visit and to hear of the many successes – individual and collective – that lay ahead for our Riverside students."

Bill Cirullo, who died in February 2016, was principal of Riverside for 30 years. Long-time music teacher Paul Chapin served as acting principal for over a year. Valerie Ulrich was named principal in 2016 and then accepted a district administrative position in 2018.

Shelley became principal in September 2018, after having served as Supervisor of Humanities at Princeton High School.

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