From: Anne Mucci <[email protected]>
Subject: Announcement from Mr. Davies and Mr. Downes
Dear Members of the Community,
We have some significant changes in the administration of Mountain Lakes High School to announce. After 25 years, Mr. Downes, Assistant Principal of Mountain Lakes High School has elected to retire. Mr. Downes began his career in district as a math teacher and has served as Assistant Principal and Supervisor of Mathematics for the last seven years. The students of the high school and the community have benefited from Mr. Downes dedicated and caring leadership. Mr. Downes will remain in district through August to ensure a smooth transition for his replacement. We anticipate appointing his replacement by our July Board meeting.
After six years as MLHS principal, Mr. Davies has elected to accept a position in Hanover Park. Please read his letter to the community: Mr.DaviesLetter.pdf .
We are fortunate to have had Mr. Davies and Mr. Downes consistently demonstrate a strong commitment to academic excellence and support our students in their academic and co-curricular pursuits. They will be missed and on behalf of the Board of Education, we wish them all the best.
Given the critical nature of the high school principalship to the district's success, it is necessary that we take considerable time to conduct an extensive search before naming a replacement. We will not rush to make this appointment and we expect that we will have well over 100 qualified applicants for the position. We anticipate naming Mr. Davies' replacement by late fall with a start date of January 2. However, it may take slightly longer.
Beginning July 1, I will serve the district in a dual role of High School Principal/Superintendent of Schools. I began my career here as a classroom teacher in the high school, and after several administrative posts in district, I served and earned tenure as Principal of Mountain Lakes High School. I have a deep passion for secondary education and have always thoroughly enjoyed working with high school students. I, like so many of you, am also extremely proud of our high school and its tradition of excellence. By personally overseeing the Referendum implementation, the induction of our new faculty members and the continuation of our quality programs, I will work with you to ensure that the high school stays the course and builds upon our current success.
I will you keep updated on the progress of these personnel changes and am happy to address any questions that you may have. Please also note that the Board of Education will take action on the above two items at our regularly scheduled Board meeting on Monday, May 21st. I have also added this topic to my Brown Bag Lunch; Thursday, May 24th at noon and Evening Coffee; Tuesday, May 22nd at 7pm. All of these meetings will take place in the Mountain Lakes High School Media Center.
I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming meeting and our exciting end of year events.
Sincerely,
Anne Mucci, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools