AMHERST - Interim Superintendent Maria Geryk has announced that Michael Hayes will become the principal of the Regional Middle School on April 26.
Hayes, 35, has been a math teacher and administrator at the middle school for over 12 years, and is currently senior assistant principal. Geryk selected him over the other finalist, Karsten Schlenter, a middle school principal in Michigan for nine years.
"Having been a recent candidate in a different community which was very interested in his candidacy, we are particularly pleased that Mr. Hayes will remain in our community," according to a press release from Kathryn Mazur, the human resources director.
Mark Jackson, who has served as principal of both the middle and high schools since the departure of Middle School Principal Glenda Cresto last September, will go back to supervising the high school full time on April 26.
For more details, see story in the Thursday Gazette.
16 comments:
Wonderful! Really good news! Best wishes, Mike!
I echo 5:06. Good news and good luck.
I hope people will give Mike a chance to see what he will do as principal, (a position he has not actually had here until now). He seems committed to Amherst and the district and to alot of the right principles, such as equity and high standards.
Please don't dismiss him because of some label such as "insider", but give him support, and a chance to prove himself as you would have given anyone else who was starting in a new position such as this.
Sam I Am
A shocking outcome..........absolutely shocking.
I second that sentiment! ARMS is in really good hands with the selection of Mike Hayes as principal. Congratulations Mike!
Where was Mike Hayes a recent candidate besides our District? What is Kathy Mazur referring to?
"I hope people will give Mike a chance to see what he will do as principal, (a position he has not actually had here until now). "
What choice do we have?
I'm all for promoting from within. It's not just good for morale, it can also be the best decision. There is also something to be said for hiring a person with a proven track record.
That said, I have no information about wither candidate on which to base a judgment.
If by support him you mean holding him to the Beers report as a standard, then yes I will be supporting him. I want to see change. He felt he was the man for the job. I did not. But it is what it is and now I want, or rather, I need to see results. So Mike please hit the ground running and change those things that do not work. Show us you can really get it done. Please show me I was wrong to think you were not the right man for the job. My kids are depending on you. I will watch hopefully as that is all I can really do now. Good Luck.
Anon 9:40
That seems like an inappropriate question. Mike obviously applied elsewhere in addition to Amherst, which is perfectly reasonable. (One must avoid that all the eggs in one basket thing.) It would seem confidentiality all around would make that a question that should not be publicly answered.
Thank goodness this decision was made in time for me to get school choice papers in place for my children next year!! I do NOT want more of the same for them. Good luck to those who remain.
"That seems like an inappropriate question. Mike obviously applied elsewhere in addition to Amherst, which is perfectly reasonable. (One must avoid that all the eggs in one basket thing.) It would seem confidentiality all around would make that a question that should not be publicly answered."
That can of words was opened in the formal statement of his hiring (posted on the schools website)
"Having been a recent candidate in a different community which was very interested in his candidacy, we are particularly pleased that Mr. Hayes will remain in our community."
Mr. Hayes might have been a candidate in another community, but he was not a finalist. And if he WAS a candidate in another community, this seriously calls into question his avowed committment to Amherst, his desire to remain here, and his desire to have his daughter be a student at our middle school while he was the principal.
He was a finalist in another district (One of two)outside the immediate area. I know someone involved in that community who called me. And what that shows to me is that he wanted to be a principal. His preference might have been Amherst but given all the negative comments about him by people on this blog and other places he would not have been smart to not be looking other places. What was he supposed to wait until the search here was over when all the other searches are done. Hiring for educators is done at certain times of the year. How naive to think he would only want to be a principal here. He discovered this year he really did want to be a MS principal and if Amherst was not going to give him the nod he was going to look elsewhere as the best for himself, his family etc. There is life outside Amherst. I am just glad he is here. He showed his commitment to AMherst bu taking the job...he could have said no thank you.
I too think this is great news. We have the Beers report, we have a super hard-working SC that is on top of things, and now we have a MS principal who has a good rapport with the faculty and has shown strong cooperation with the SC. Hopefully, we can all continue to work together to move forward.
so we were told where Schlenter was a finalist but Hayes info is private? wow.
to anon@1024 and other anons:
I withhold my belief in hearsay like yours when it is submitted anonymously. If its true, why not include your identity?
Opinions/arguments are different and rely on their own merits regardless of the poster, although I'd prefer people would include their names or even a constant pseudonym. The same does not apply to 'information'.
Mr. Hayes putting his name in for another job in another community "calls into question" his commitment to Amherst and its schools?
Right.
The man's a school administrator, not a priest.
Get a grip.
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