WESTOVER, Md.- The principal of Washington Academy and High School in Westover, Md. has resigned after only a few short months in the position.
According to Leo Lawson, a spokesman for Somerset County Public Schools, said early Tuesday that Dr. Pamela Patterson was resigning for personal reasons. Tuesday was to be her last day at work. She has been the principal since she was hired in July 2016.
Ernest Boger, an educator at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore said he was surprised about the resignation.
"I expected her to settle in and get things moving on the right track for the long run, because certainly as an educational institutional leader you need longevity to get your program and processes in place," Boger said.
Over the past years Washington High School has struggled with keeping permanent principals in place. Dr. John Gaddis, Somerset County Schools Superintendent said in a statement to WBOC, "Change does happen, sometimes more frequently than everyone would desire. Much has been done with staff and structure at Washington Academy and High School to insure for a successful transition."
Supervisor of Special Programs William P. "Will" Gray will serve as acting principal, Gaddis said, effective Monday, Nov. 28. He will remain in that position through the end of the school year, but this is a temporary appointment, according Gaddis.
Gray has significant classroom and administrative experience. He served as as a secondary science teacher from 1999 to 2012 in Queen Anne’s and Dorchester Counties. He was appointed assistant principal at Crisfield Academy and High School in 2012 and worked in that capacity until 2014.
According to school officials, in 2014 Gray was named supervisor of secondary science/mentor coordinator. He has continued in the role of supervisor of special programs/mentor coordinator to the present time. As a mentor coordinator he has provided assistance to several nontenured teachers, conducted professional development/new teacher orientation at the beginning of the school year and facilitated meetings with individual teachers or groups of educators to refine teaching practices. Gray understands the observation and evaluation process and the procedures to maximize performance.
Gaddis said, "We remain optimistic that as we begin the formal search process immediately, we will be able to hire a person as principal who would be able to establish continuity and will remain at the school for a time."
