Manchester Essex Regional High School Dean of Students Dan Richards has been hired as Marblehead High School’s next assistant principal.
Richards was hired by current Marblehead High School Assistant Principal Michele Carlson, who will be replacing Dan Bauer as principal of the high school. Bauer is set to become superintendent of Danvers Public Schools.
Richards comes to Marblehead with extensive experience as a principal and assistant principal in a number of districts. In an interview, Richards said that one of his reasons for taking the assistant principal role is that he gets to work with students more closely than he would as principal.
“The principal position really pulls you away a lot from the everyday action of students and building those relationships with them,” he said. “That’s the whole reason why I got into this.”
He first served as an assistant principal at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School from 2003 to 2004, before taking over as the assistant principal for instruction at Belmont High School in 2005.
He spent six years at Belmont before being hired as the principal at Melrose High School. He returned to Belmont for another six years, this time as principal. He then became principal at Georgetown Middle/High School, before moving into his current position at Manchester Essex.
Richards said having experience in a number of different districts is beneficial to his new position.
“I think what I bring to the table is I have a couple of different districts I’ve worked in as principal and assistant principal,” Richards said. “Based on the culture of the school, you adapt your leadership style and how you work with the kids and how you work with the families. I think that’s a plus.”
Marblehead Superintendent of Schools John Buckey announced the new hire at a School Committee meeting on Thursday, saying that the district is pleased to have Richards joining the high school staff.
“We are very fortunate to have him coming to the high school as the assistant principal,” Buckey said.
In addition to his administrative experience, Richards has also been on the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association Board for 20 years and is currently on the National Association of Secondary School Principals Board of Directors.
“I still remain active on a larger scale. But I like the day-to-day work with the students, so I have my foot in both worlds, which I kind of feel like I have the best job now,” Richards said.
Richard’s hiring is the latest in a number of administrative shifts that the district is currently undergoing. In January, Assistant Superintendent of Marblehead Public Schools Nan Murphy was selected as the next superintendent of public schools in Dedham, just over a week after it was announced that Bauer would be taking the superintendent position in Danvers.
In addition, Buckey said that Village Elementary School Principal Amanda Murphy will be conducting interviews this week for the assistant principal position at the elementary school to replace Dr. Amy Amico. According to Buckey, the position has seen 30 applications submitted.