NL elementary school principal leaves for new job

New London — The leader of one of the district’s most successful magnet schools has left for a new job.

Winthrop STEM Elementary Magnet School Principal Michele Han was named the new principal at Melissa Jones Elementary School in Guilford. Guilford’s school board voted on

her appointment on July 31.

“She has a reputation as a skilled, dedicated, passionate and personable administrator dedicated to the critical follow through necessary for a building leader,” Guilford School Superintendent Paul Freeman said in a statement.

New London School Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie, in a statement released Monday on the school district’s website, announced she had named Winthrop Dean Mike Podeszwa as the interim principal at Winthrop for the upcoming school year.

“Mike has worked alongside Ms. Han for 7 years and is committed to continuing to lead and serve the amazing staff, students and families throughout the school community,” Ritchie said. “We thank Ms. Han for her amazing service to the New London Public Schools and wish her the best as she takes on a new leadership role with Guilford Public Schools.”

Han is a former principal at Harbor Elementary School who was hired as the Winthrop principal in 2013. She led the school during its initial years as a magnet school that attracted out-of-district students.

The news comes even as the district continues to seek directors for both the middle and high schools, vacancies left with a restructuring of positions in the district that included the reassignment of former New London High School Principal William “Tommy” Thompson. Thompson was shifted to a new position heading secondary-level curriculum, instruction and assessment.

Ritchie has changed the leadership structure at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, opting to hire an overall director for the school. Previously there had been directors for individual magnet schools.

A committee set up to screen applicants and conduct interviews with candidates for the high school director position was expected to make a recommendation to Ritchie by July 30.

Representatives from the school district did not respond to emailed questions on Tuesday.