Middle School Principal's Exit Stirs Changes in District

The departure last month of principal Noah Tennant, has unleashed a torrent of changes in the school district. 

Some of the changes will be confirmed in two scheduled board meetings next week. The informed speculation is that Gino R. Priolo, the Tatem school principal, will be appointed principal of the middle school. School board President Steve Weinstein would not confirm or deny Priolo’s appointment but said Friday that both the middle school and Tatem principal positions will be filled by internal candidates.

Chuck Klaus, the assistant principal for curriculum at Haddonfield Memorial High School, has been appointed principal of the Central School, an elementary school that shares an adjoining building with the middle school on Lincoln Avenue. He replaces Sandra Horwitz, who will become an assistant principal at the middle school.

Weinstein did not indicate the board had decided on a replacement for Klaus. 

The board will meet Tuesday at the Archer and Greiner law firm on Haddon Avenue for its annual retreat. The 5:30 p.m. meeting is open to the public. There is no formal agenda Tuesday but Weinstein said the board is expected to receive a five-year plan from district administrators and discuss it. The board’s regular monthly meeting will be on Thursday, with a public portion beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the Central-Middle School library on Lincoln Avenue.

The departure of Tennant stirred debate on Haddonfield Talks, a local Internet chat room.

One participant wrote: “…How many years in a row do we think we can turn over our top talent at the district and school level and not have it impact our schools? Here's my quick list from just the last few years: O'Brien, Fegley, Bowley, & Tenant. Who else am I missing?”

Weinstein said he regrets losing talent like Tennant—who was recruited to be the principal at Boys' Latin charter school in Philadelphia—but it’s a reality of a small district such as Haddonfield.

“It’s very difficult to advance people within our system,” Weinstein said. “We will never be in a situation in which we can do that. We only have one high school and one middle school. I also think that recruiters think that if someone is working here, they are pretty good. It’s one of the things we have to deal with.”

The district has three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.

“It is hard to imagine a place as nurturing as Haddonfield,” Tennant said in a letter to parents on June 28. “The lessons I have learned here will last a lifetime.”

Diane Gautier, a middle school parent, said Friday she would miss Tennant but is confident more talented educators will be attracted to Haddonfield.

“He was very personable and knew all the kids by name,” she said. “But I think there are lots of talented people in the world. Haddonfield is a top-notched place and we’re not going to have any problem attracting top-notched talent.”