Craig King taught at the International School of Brazzaville in Zaire, which is now the Republic of Congo, in 1992-93, following about a two-and-a-half-year stint in the Peace Corps in Zaire
Mt. Ararat hires new principal
Michael_Reagan@TimesRecord.Com
08/16/2004
SAD 75 Superintendent J. Michael Wilhelm describes Craig King as experienced, effective administrator.
TOPSHAM - Mt. Ararat High School has a new principal who has worked in schools from Africa and Mississippi to Maine.
The School Administrative District 75 Board of Directors on Thursday approved the hiring of Craig King. King has worked for five years as principal of Woodland Junior-Senior High School in Baileyville, which has about 290 students. The high school student population there is approximately 220.
Mt. Ararat High had approximately 1,150 students during the academic year that ended in June.
King will earn $81,857, said SAD 75 Business Manager Ron Lavender.
He replaces Joe Findlay, who retired as principal last month after serving as an administrator at the high school for 15 years. Findlay's salary for the last school year was $79,714.
The hiring committee for the new principal chose King unanimously, said SAD 75 Board member Caroline Eliot.
King will participate in the search for a new assistant principal. Eliot said that a new person may be hired by the time classes open in three weeks.
In a telephone interview from Woodland Junior-Senior High School Friday, the Fort Kent native talked about his teaching and administrative experience, which includes working as a history and social studies teacher at a Jackson, Miss., high school with 1,200 students and as an assistant principal at a junior-senior high school in Prentiss, Miss. That school had 700 students.
SAD 75 Superintendent J. Michael Wilhelm gave a number of reasons why King was chosen for the job. He said King has proved to be a very effective high school administrator, understands the issues facing education today and has had a wide range of experience.
King also taught at the International School of Brazzaville in Zaire, which is now the Republic of Congo, in 1992-93, following about a two-and-a-half-year stint in the Peace Corps in Zaire. There, he taught about health, nutrition and agricultural practices in public schools. He received his doctorate in education leadership in 1998 from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Although new to Topsham, King ran into people from Fort Kent when he was in town last week. One was a former neighbor and another a high school classmate.
"It shows what a small state this is," King said.
One of his responsibilities as principal includes working on an effort to increase the number of students who continue their education after high school and to create what Wilhelm referred to as more personalized and rigorous learning in the school. In June, the high school received a $50,000 small learning communities grant from the federal Department of Education.
The grant will be used in part for the adviser-advisee program. Wilhelm said that parents could see other results in their children's education, such as teachers working with other teachers to enhance each other's work.
"What we hope that they'll see is students are challenged to a great extent, more engaged in their education and teachers who will know their students better," he said.
Wilhelm added that the first step will involve teachers planning together across the curriculum to improve student learning.
King will work a few days at Mt. Ararat High School this week and will move to the area by the end of the month. He will be at Mt. Ararat High School for the start of classes in early September.
This week, one of his tasks is to meet with the school's leadership team. He and the leadership team will prepare for re-accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Re-accreditation, which shows that a school meet s academic and student assessment standards, will occur in 2007, King said.
King said his job at first will involve listening and observing. Although he said he would be more informed on specific school issues once he meets with the leadership team this week, he did express support for the Maine Learning Results. He said they require that students across the state follow the same standards in the classes they take.
"It gives us standards we can shoot for," King said.
Between his move to the area and helping to carry out some of the school's goals, he will work as a commuting principal. The drive from Baileyville in Washington County to Topsham takes about four hours one way. King lives about 10 miles north of Calais and 90 miles east of Bangor, he said.
People in Maine also refer to Baileyville as Woodland.
