Martin Mackey will be the next principal of Nobleboro Central School. (Photo courtesy Martin Mackey)
The Nobleboro School Committee appointed a principal for Nobleboro Central School on Monday, May 14.
Martin Mackey will start work July 1. He will take over for NCS Principal Ann Hassett, who will leave at the end of June to become the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for AOS 93.
Mackey is the principal of the REAL School in Brunswick. REAL stands for relevant, experiential, authentic learning.
The public day-treatment school in the Brunswick School Department serves students in grades three through 12 from Androscoggin, Cumberland, Oxford, Sagadahoc, and York counties, according to the school’s website. Students “have experienced disruption to their education due to the complexity and severity of their disability-related needs.”
Mackey holds a Master of Science degree in special education and “has worked with at-risk students for over 18 years, both in public schools and private wilderness therapy programs in the western U.S.,” according to the school’s website.
Mackey said he is looking forward to starting work at NCS.
“I am excited about the community of Nobleboro and really looking forward to working with all of the grades, K-8,” Mackey said.
Mackey is the president of the Maine Association of Alternative Education and holds a certificate of advanced graduate study in educational leadership, in addition to Maine Department of Education certification as a K-12 special education teacher and principal.
Mackey said one of his goals at Nobleboro will be to foster and continue community involvement at the school.
“I want to continue the great work Ann is doing to create a community resource for students and families,” Mackey said.
According to Nobleboro School Committee Chair Hilary Petersen, a search committee started looking for a new principal in early April.
Petersen said she is excited to welcome Mackey to the school.
“Martin has a wonderful sense of humor and warmth that comes through the minute you communicate with him,” she said. “His colleagues absolutely adore and support him and we feel lucky that he chose NCS as his new home.”
Petersen said the search committee was pleased with the interest generated by the opening.
“It was a bit of a challenge at first, but there were so many wonderful applicants. We were lucky to have had so many awesome candidates,” Petersen said.
There were 17 candidates for the job. The search committee interviewed six, according to interim AOS 93 Superintendent Jim Hodgkin.
The search committee had six members: Nancy Courville, NCS administrative assistant; Sue Fossett, AOS 93 director of special services; Petersen; Carmen Reed, Nobleboro resident; Paula Schuster, a third-grade teacher at NCS; and Kenneth Williams, a teacher for grades six through eight at NCS.
In an email, Petersen said the search committee considered numerous factors before making its recommendation.
“We talked about the standards principals should uphold, the positive qualities that Mrs. Hassett has brought to bear at NCS, and the skills needed of a leader as the educational climate continues to change nationally and locally,” Petersen said.
Petersen spoke on Mackey’s experience with at-risk students and in various educational settings.
“He has a passion for providing continuous professional development to his staff, colleagues, and policymakers, and is poised to support the school’s transition to a proficiency-based system,” Petersen said.
