Aug 12, 2008 8:57 pm US/Eastern
Gloucester Principal Explains Decision
GLOUCESTER (AP) ―
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Darren McCollester/Getty Images
The following is a statement issued by Joseph M. Sullivan, who resigned Tuesday as Gloucester High School principal.
When I applied to be the principal at Gloucester High School, I only knew Gloucester by its reputation as a hard working fishing community with strong and multi-cultural and ethnic populations.
As the screening and application process continued and I made my own inquiries, I began to appreciate how much more than its reputation Gloucester had to offer. I was impressed by the can-do attitude of the people who live and work here and the special relationship that existed between the community and the high school.
It was clear to me from the beginning that it would be a good fit for me and it has been a privilege to have served for ten (10) years. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that the job presents and the cast of characters who have made each day different from the day before. I have at all times tried to be fair and honest with the students, the faculty, the staff and the community. At all times I have done what I have felt was in the best interests of the high school.
In June of this year, I was asked by a reporter from Time magazine a direct question to which I gave a direct, truthful and honest answer. In the aftermath of that interview, while I was advised by the Superintendent of Schools to not make any public comments, and while I had to move out of my own house to avoid "news" reporters and harassing phone calls, the mayor held a press conference and publicly slandered my reputation, my integrity and my intelligence. Since then neither the Superintendent nor any member of the School Committee has publicly come to my defense.
Moreover, I have not been consulted with respect to any of the proposed high school or school administration responses to the teen pregnancy issues at the high school.
Lastly, as I have previously stated, the Mayor did not speak to me before her press conference and to this day, she has still not spoken to me. In the interest of full disclosure, the Mayor did visit the high school unannounced last week when I was not there and left a handwritten note with my secretary suggesting that I call her office for an appointment if I wanted to talk.
The ramifications of this whole episode on me and the people in my life who matter most, my family, have been devastating, and the Mayor's actions and the Superintendent's public silence has forced me to recognize that I have neither the trust, confidence or respect of the Mayor nor the Superintendent. My instinctive reaction to this realization has been to soldier on, but I have too much respect for myself, my family, the school, the students, the faculty and the staff to continue.
I fully appreciate the fact that without the Mayor's and Superintendent's unqualified support the already difficult and challenging job of being the high school principal becomes next to impossible. I have therefore submitted by resignation as high school principal effective August 15, 2008, and I will retire from public school administration, an option that I was eligible for more than two years ago.
I have not been forced or pressured to make this decision. It is mine alone and it is irrevocable.
In closing, I want to thank all of the faculty and staff at the high school. My contribution to the progress we have made and the successes we have enjoyed pale compared to everyone else's efforts. Ours is a profession to be proud of and which we honor each day one day and one student at a time.
I also want to thank the several thousand students who have graduated from Gloucester High during my tenure and give some last words of advice to the twelve hundred I leave today. Gloucester kids are smart and tough. You have kept me feeling young. Challenge yourself to be the best you can everyday. Constantly check your moral compass and do what's right, even if you find yourself at times swimming against the tide. Give more of yourself than you get in return and you will be happy.
And finally please give the new principal the same warm Gloucester welcome and the respect I was given when I arrived.
Joseph M. Sullivan
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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