News of the hiring of Finn School’s new principal brought smiles to more than just the candidate’s face. It was welcome news to many parents who had rallied for the choice – Clayton Ryan.
Earlier this spring, news came out that Finn & Woodward Vice Principal Ryan was being “passed over” for the Principal position at Finn. With Finn and Woodward Principal James Randell retiring, he was being replaced by two outside principals.
Many parents objected on social media. They wrote that they assumed Ryan was the natural choice for the position at Finn, where he served as a counselor prior to his promotion to Vice Principal. An online petition was started and calls made to the administration. Parents backed down at Ryan’s request that they respect the search committee’s choice.
Soon after, the school announced that it wouldn’t be hiring the previously announced finalist after all. Instead, they were rebooting the search and adding another parent to the search committee.
The results of that search were announced on May 25th in a message to parents.* Southborough Wicked Local covered the news on Friday, along with positive reaction from two of the mothers behind the petition.
Here is the full announcement from Superintendent Christine Johnson:
ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRINCIPAL APPOINTMENTS AT MARY E. FINN SCHOOL AND ALBERT S. WOODWARD MEMORIAL SCHOOL
As Superintendent of Schools, I am pleased to announce that the appointments of principals at the Mary E. Finn Elementary School and Albert S. Woodward Memorial School are complete. On behalf of the Southborough Public School District, I extend our appreciation to the members of the search committees, the parents for providing feedback throughout this process, and the Southborough Organization for Schools (SOS) for providing support throughout the search process.
The District is pleased to announce that Mr. Steven Mucci has accepted the position of Principal of the Albert S. Woodward Memorial School. Mr. Mucci has over twelve years experience as an instructor and administrator at the elementary level. Currently, he is the Assistant Principal of Louise A. Conley Elementary School in Whitman, Massachusetts where he has served in this role for the last five years. Prior to his position as an administrator of a K-5 school, Mr. Mucci was a classroom teacher at grades 1 and 4 at the Franklin Elementary School in Newton, Massachusetts. Mr. Mucci earned his Bachelor of Science in History from State University of New York, a Master of Education in Special Education from Simmons College and a Master of Education in Organizational Management from Endicott College.
A second search was conducted for the Principal of Mary E. Finn Elementary School. Two candidates were forwarded to the Superintendent as semi-finalists. I am pleased to announce that Clayton Ryan, Assistant Principal, has been named Principal of the Finn School. Mr. Ryan joined the Southborough School District in 1999 and served as a Behavior Specialist/Guidance Counselor before assuming his current administrative role. Mr. Ryan has extensive knowledge of our school community and has been instrumental in developing and expanding our support services for all students. Mr. Ryan earned his Masters of Education in Special Education from Framingham State University and holds multiple licenses in the area of leadership and special needs. He held the position of Adjunct Professor at multiple post-secondary institutions in Massachusetts.
Please join me in congratulating both Mr. Ryan and Mr. Mucci as they begin their new positions in our schools effective July 1, 2017. Details regarding an opportunity for our school community to meet with our new Principals prior to the end of this school year will be shared within the next few weeks.
*Sorry for the delay in sharing this news – but I missed a message. I’m blaming tech issues and gmail for having missed it! But that’s a long and complicated explanation – and you don’t care.
(images from school website)
Congrats Clayton – so well earned and deserved!