The following is an important message from the Reading Public Schools.
Dear RMHS Students and Families,
We hope this letter finds you well as we move into the winter months of the school year. We are writing to inform you that we are removing the “interim” title and naming Ms. Jessica Callanan as the permanent principal at RMHS. The feedback we received from RMHS staff, RMHS School Council members, RMHS PTO Board Members, and the RMHS Student Advisory Committee was vital in shaping this decision. In the email below, we provide more context and information.
The most important factor in making this decision has been Ms. Callanan’s performance at RMHS over the past two years in both the Director of Academic Achievement role and the Interim Principal role. Her leadership has been instrumental in moving several key initiatives forward. For example, she spearheaded the efforts to bring four new Innovation Pathways to RMHS, with significant funding from DESE and partnerships with our community, aimed at developing employable skills in high-demand occupations, connecting learning to authentic and real-world settings, and aligning school-based opportunities to the ever-expanding interests of our students. She has been instrumental in scaling our paid senior internship program to include over 80 students and 60 community partners, enabling seniors to experience career exploration through a wide range of work-based learning opportunities. Ms. Callanan has also developed partnerships with several local universities to expand dual-enrollment opportunities, enabling students to gain college credits while taking courses at RMHS. In addition, she has restructured our school-based Instructional Leadership Team to empower and support our Department Heads, leading to significant improvements in teaching and learning in classrooms across the school. Ms. Callanan’s contributions have created exciting, innovative, and meaningful learning opportunities for students in response to a rapidly changing world.
While we are encouraged by the aforementioned progress and successes, our decision to move Ms. Callanan forward as the permanent principal is grounded in the overwhelming positive feedback we have received from RMHS staff and many other community stakeholders. Our team gathered extensive input from staff over the past several months through surveys, 1:1 meetings, and informal conversations throughout the building. The feedback from the RMHS staff reflects Ms. Callanan’s deep skill and vast experience as a leader. Staff consistently speak to her strong communication skills, which have led to a remarkably well-organized and well-run building. Many staff note Ms. Callanan’s strong ability to lead teams, especially the RMHS leadership team, in a way that moves staff/leaders in the same direction through clear goals, identifiable benchmarks to measure success, and transparent lines of accountability. Ms. Callanan’s ability to listen to a wide range of opinions and ideas, yet also act decisively, has been especially admired by staff. They also consistently speak to her work ethic, her visibility throughout the building, her focus on academic instruction and systems, and her deep commitment to student success. In short, RMHS staff advocated strongly for Ms. Callanan to remain as the RMHS Principal, referencing the impact of her leadership on the building and their confidence that she is uniquely poised to move the school successfully into the future. The staff sentiments around Mrs. Callanan’s leadership mirror the feedback we have received from other stakeholder groups in the RMHS community.
When we reached out to the community last spring, we expressed that we would initiate a full search for the role in late fall/early winter. While we contemplated launching the search as initially planned, we feel that we already have a tremendous leader in our building who is committed to the role, has a track record of success in the school, and has quickly gained the respect, trust, and support of the RMHS staff and the larger RMHS community. We feel strongly that Ms. Callanan is the best leader to provide RMHS with much needed stability and to move our school forward in exciting ways for our students. On a related note, as Ms. Callanan moved into the Interim Principal role this past year, we shifted her vacated Director of Academic Achievement role to a one-year Assistant Principal role. In the upcoming year, we will keep this same leadership structure in place, maintaining four Assistant Principals at RMHS (including AP/Athletic Director Mr. Zaya) and not filling the Director of Academic Achievement role. We believe that the addition of this fourth Assistant Principal position provides invaluable support for the RMHS community and the duties of the Director of Academic Achievement can be incorporated into this new organizational structure.
If you have not had the opportunity to meet Ms. Callanan, we will host an informal meet and greet on January 11th at 6pm in the RMHS library. Ms. Callanan will introduce herself, share some of her ideas for the future of RMHS, and answer any questions from parents or students. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback.
Go Rockets!
Dr. Thomas Milaschewski, Superintendent
Dr. Sarah Hardy, Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching
Dr. Jennifer Stys, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services
Dr. Derek Pinto, Director of Finance and Operations Michelle Roach, HR Director
