Rockville Centre Schools Announce New Superintendent

In a letter to the community yesterday, the Rockville Centre Board of Education announced that it would be hiring June Chang as the district's new superintendent. Chang will be replacing Dr. William Johnson, who is retiring at the end of this school year.

Chang will be at the board's work session Wednesday at the South Side High School auditorium from 7:30 to 8 p.m. for a special reception. Anyone is welcome to come meet him.

Chang is coming to the district from New Jersey, where he is currently serving as the superintendent and chief executive officer of the Summit Public School District. He officially takes his post on July 1, following Johnson's retirement on June 30.

"Since it has been [34 years] since a new district leader was recruited, the board spent an appreciable amount of time thinking about all aspects of this important responsibility, and especially how to involve our community in this generational change," Board President Tara Hackett wrote in her letter. "We firmly believe the introduction of Mr. Chang is the culmination of a professionally guided, community-based process."

Chang began his career as a teacher in Paterson and New Milford, and then went on to be the district curriculum supervisor and Holocaust education program supervisor in the Jersey City Public Schools. He became the assistant principal at Midland Park and then the district's director of education and professional development. He became superintendent of the Summit district in 2015.

Summit is a comparable district to Rockville Centre: it has two primary centers, five elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, and serves more than 4,000 students.

When Johnson announced last year that he was retiring, the district started the search for his replacement. The board held interviews with more than 130 school personnel, parents and students, and also received more than 500 responses to a written survey from community members. Chang was chosen from a pool of 50 applicants.

The board will be holding other meet and greet events with Chang before he takes his position on July 1.