HADLEY — April Camuso, head of the English department at Hopkins Academy, will serve as the school’s principal for the next year.
Beginning July 1, Camuso will take on the interim role after Superintendent Anne McKenzie recommended to the School Committee in March that the position be posted internally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of launching a proper search for a successor to outgoing Principal Brian Beck.
Beck, a Montague resident, was appointed superintendent of the Gill-Montague regional school district after seven years as principal at Hopkins.
McKenzie told the School Committee that doing a meaningful search, and finding qualified and competent individuals for a permanent principal, can take time.
School Committee members supported the internal search because of the short timeframe and the need to find someone who can understand the staff and system and prepare for a transition.
School Committee Chairwoman Heather Klesch said at the time there would be a “comfort aspect” to having an interim principal selected internally.
In addition to teaching English at the school, Camuso has led the Gender Equity Task Force, which has dealt with issues of sexism at the school since 2018, and served as faculty adviser to a student initiative focused on gender equity.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com
