Retired Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School principal Margaret “Peg” Regan will return to familiar hallways at the start of the new school year. Ms. Regan, who retired in 2008, will replace Gil Traverso, who resigned last week to take a job in the New Haven, Conn., school district.
On Tuesday, Superintendent of Martha’s Vineyard Schools Matt D’Andrea sent an email to parents announcing the interim hire for the 2015–16 school year.
“Over the next couple of weeks, Ms. Regan will work with Mr. Traverso and the administrative team at the high school as she transitions into a familiar role, and I am confident that we will experience a seamless transition,” Mr. Andrea said.
The departure of Mr. Traverso one year into a three-year contract caught school officials by surprise. By turning to Ms. Regan, they have a familiar and well-respected leader in place before the start of the school year in less than four weeks.
“We are very fortunate to have a talented and experienced educator on the Island who is willing to step forward for our students in a time of need,” Mr. D’Andrea said. “The search process for a permanent principal at the high school will begin after the new year.”
In a telephone conversation Wednesday, Mr. D’Andrea said the school is fortunate that Ms. Regan is here and “is willing and able to help us move forward in a seamless fashion.”
Mr. D’Andrea said Ms. Regan begins work on Monday and she will remain for the entire year. The contract details including salary have yet to be finalized, he said.
Mr. D’Andrea said he turned to Ms. Regan based on her experience and familiarity. “She has been there, she knows the community, she knows the staff, she continues to be involved in education and the workings of the high school, she works on scholarship committees, so she knows the school community and she knows the Island.”
Mr. D’Andrea said that based on the timing the decision was made to go with an interim and conduct a search over the coming year.
“I’m thrilled that Peg was willing to step in,” he said. “I think we’re in a good spot.”
Offer of help
When she retired in 2008, Ms. Regan said she wanted to spend time pursuing other interests in the field of education. In the past seven years, she has taught English writing and literature in the associate-degree program through Cape Cod Community College on-Island, as well as worked as the program director for Career and Continuing Education for ACE MV.
In a telephone conversation Tuesday, Ms. Regan said she learned last Tuesday that Mr. Traverso had decided to take a new job. She called Mr. D’Andrea and assistant superintendent Richie Smith to offer her help with the opening of school through September and October.
“Upon consideration, I think they decided they would really not get a great candidate pool in August and September, so they asked would I be willing to stay on for a full year and let them take the year to locate the next principal,” she said.
Ms. Reagan said she never expected to sign on for a full school year, but after she thought about it, she decided it was the correct decision. “A month is like nothing in a principal’s life,” she said.
On Monday she will begin meeting with Mr. Traverso, who is scheduled to leave August 24, and review all of the initiatives that have been put in place and programs established since she left.
“What I feel really happy and enthused about,” she said, “is that I still know a lot of the teachers and the staff, and I feel that there is this amazing leadership capacity on that faculty and staff, and I just feel it needs to be more cultivated and brought to light.”
Ms. Regan said leaders will emerge if encouraged to step forward. She said the fact that people know she will only be there one year will be a factor.
Ms. Reagan said she has a great deal of respect for Mr. D’Andrea and Mr. Smith. “This is an opportunity for me to come in and work with them as well, and help them get the next principal hired and the whole leadership team up and going in a real exciting way.”
Ms. Regan assumed the principal’s job at MVRHS in the summer of 1999. In an earlier interview she told The Times, “I think superintendents can do a certain amount to change schools and teachers can work as teacher leaders, but really, the principalship is where real school change comes from. It’s one of the reasons I got into the business, because I felt that as a teacher, I could effect change in my classroom, but I couldn’t effect whole-school change without getting into the principal’s seat.”
