Reading, MA — In a statement released to the school district, Superintendent Thomas Milaschewski announced that current Director of Academic Achievement Jessica Callanan would replace Kevin Tracey as interim RMHS Principal for the ’23 -’24 school year. Sighting the timing of the vacancy, Callanan will serve as interim for one year while a search for the full-time principal position for a favorable hiring window in late fall/early winter.
Dear RMHS Students and Families,
We hope this letter finds you well as we approach the end of another school year. Today, we write to you with information about our plan to move forward following Principal Tracey’s recent resignation announcement.
First, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to Principal Tracey for his dedicated service and commitment to the RMHS community over the past two years. Mr. Tracey’s leadership and passion for education have made a significant impact on our students, staff, and the entire school community. As a central office leadership team, we have admired and appreciated Mr. Tracey’s collaborative leadership style, his ability to build relationships with many different stakeholders, and his commitment to the success of each of our students. We will miss Mr. Tracey’s leadership in our district and we wish him the very best in the next chapter of his career.
With Mr. Tracey’s departure, Ms. Jessica Callanan, current RMHS Director of Academic Achievement, will serve as the one-year interim principal at RMHS during the 2023-2024 school year. Many of you have worked closely with Ms. Callanan or are familiar with her work through her leadership this past year. In her role, she has collaborated closely with Mr. Tracey to oversee all academic programming at the high school. Ms. Callanan has also taken the lead in establishing and facilitating our Instructional Leadership Team (comprised of all Department Heads) and in launching our Innovation Career Pathways, dual-enrollment programs, and senior internship opportunities. Ms. Callanan brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having served as both a high school principal for six years (Woburn High School) and assistant principal for four years (Salem High School) prior to joining our district. Ms. Callanan also has experience as a high school history teacher in New Jersey and served as an Engineer Officer on active duty for five years following her graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Ms. Callanan’s strong leadership experience and knowledge of the RMHS community make her an ideal fit to lead the school during this period of transition.
Given the timing of this vacancy, we felt strongly that it made most sense to move forward with a 1-year interim. It is important that we build as strong of a pool of candidates as possible for the permanent principal position, and therefore, we will initiate the search for the full-time principal position on the most favorable hiring window in late fall/early winter. Following the hire of a permanent principal, Ms. Callanan will resume her role as the Director of Academic Achievement.
Furthermore, in the upcoming year, we will convert Ms. Callanan’ vacated Director of Academic Achievement role into a one-year interim assistant principal position. This will enable the high school to maintain the same amount of administrators at the school and provide much needed support for our students and staff. This additional assistant principal will also enable Ms. Callanan to continue to lead the academic improvement efforts that are critical to the future of the school.
We believe the plan outlined in this email maximizes stability, continuity, and opportunity for forward momentum in the short-term while best positioning us for a permanent principal search. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Ms. Callanan will be in touch later this week to introduce herself to the community in this new role.
Best,
Dr. Thomas Milaschewski, Superintendent
Dr. Sarah Hardy, Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching
Dr. Jennifer Stys, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services
Susan Bottan, Director of Finance and Operations
Michelle Roach, HR Director
