New Leadership Team Appointed For Regional Middle School

After one finalist for Middle School Principal took another position and a second withdrew from consideration, School Superintendent Mike Morris appointed a group of educators from within the district as an interim leadership plan for the 2023-2024 school year.  According to a notice sent to middle school parents on May 4, Amherst Regional High School (AHRS) Principal Talib Sadiq will serve as principal for grades 7-12 for the coming year. Miki Gromacki and Samantha Camera will continue in their roles as assistant principals at the high school. Julio Fernandez, current Assistant Principal at Fort River, and Rich Ferro, current Amherst Regional Middle School (ARMS) science teacher, will serve as Interim Assistant Principals at ARMS.  Both Fernandez and Ferro have administrative experience as well as direct experience at ARMS. 

Perhaps responding in part to concerns about discrimination against LGBTQ+ students at ARMS, voiced by parents at the April 25 Regional School Committee meeting and residual mental health issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, additional mental health and counseling will also be put in place for students at ARMS and ARHS. Funding for those services has been designated in the Massachusetts House budget,.

Morris said, “This year of shared leadership will have profound, long-term benefits for students because it will provide an opportunity to begin the collaborative work of creating a fully-aligned 7-12 educational continuum that draws on the unique strengths of both ARMS and ARHS. I am grateful to Mr. Sadiq, Ms. Gromacki, Ms. Camera, Mr. Fernandez and Mr. Ferro for their willingness to take on these expanded roles next year as we conduct a search for a permanent ARMS principal.”