CUMBERLAND — Dan McKeone will end nearly 20 years at Greely High School on June 30.
The Cumberland resident has been principal since 2010, including a year as an interim. He started as a math teacher in 1999, and later became dean of students.
His time with the School Administrative District 51 school has coincided with two major expansions of the 303 Main St. building – a connection to the former Greely Institute and Gyger Gymnasium about 10 years ago, and construction of the Greely Center for the Arts this year.
“It’s changed,” he said, glancing out his office window Monday morning. “Pretty impressive.”
There’s much McKeone said he will miss about the school and its surrounding community.
“I raised my family here,” he said. “… It’s always been great to be able to work and live here; I’ve made a lot of great friends.”
The 52-year-old and his wife have been talking about the next chapter over the past few years, but what they’ll do next remains to be determined.
“That’s the fun part,” McKeone said. “We’re at a point now where our boys are grown; my oldest graduates from college next week, and my younger one just finished his sophomore year. So my wife and I are thinking, we’ve got some great things ahead of us, and trying to figure out what we’re going to do next.”
“This is the time to do it,” he added.
He announced his departure April 30, and his final day on the job will be June 30.
The district is advertising the position through May 25, plans to hold interviews next month, and expects to announce a new principal on McKeone’s final day, subject to the School Board’s approval.
The new principal would start Aug. 1, with Assistant Principal Jayme Jones filling in as needed in July.
Superintendent Jeff Porter on Monday said McKeone has led the school “during a period of rapid change.”
“Whether proficiency-based learning, transitioning to a block schedule, implementing academic interventions, or providing greater pathways for student learning, among many others, (he) has brought a steady hand to the change process at the school,” Porter explained. “His calm and deliberate manner has helped to usher in the changes being implemented, always with a sensitivity to the needs of students and support for his staff.”
“Dan is a gentleman, and he leads as such with dignity and grace. After nearly two decades at Greely High School, his service as both a teacher and administrator have made the school a better place,” Porter added, wishing McKeone “the very best as he transitions to a new chapter in his life.”
Considering what advice he’d give to the person who succeeds him, McKeone again praised the community, noting that “the more you embrace that, the more successful we can be. We have people here that really care about education … and when you’ve got that type of a community, good things happen.”
Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.
Dan McKeone’s last day at Greely High School will be June 30. He started at the Cumberland school as a math teacher in 1999, and has been its principal since 2010.
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