TOPSHAM — After serving as principal of Mt. Ararat High School for nine years, Craig King is climbing the next rung of the administrative ladder this summer to become superintendent of Regional School Unit 10.
King said Tuesday that he had been looking at superintendent positions for a while, and that he is comfortable with rural areas like Dixfield-based RSU 10, which comprises more than 10 communities in western Maine.
“It just felt like a good fit,” said King, a 48-year-old Topsham resident.
Prior to his tenure at Mt. Ararat, he was principal at Woodland Junior-Senior High School in Baileyville from 1999-2004, and an assistant principal at a grade 7-12 school in Mississippi.
It was at the University of Southern Mississippi that King earned his master’s degree and doctorate in education. Previously, he graduated from Fort Kent Community High School, and then received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and his superintendent’s license from the University of Maine.
He noted that as a superintendent, he will not have “the daily interaction with students. I think that’s probably the most difficult thing to let go … although as superintendent you’re clearly working on behalf of students.”
As superintendent, King pointed out, “you have the opportunity to lead schools in a way that you think will benefit students most. And I think that’s a huge responsibility, but I think it provides … the opportunity to really try to do things that you think are going to make lives better for young people.”
King’s first official day with RSU 10 will be Aug. 10. He said he will work full-time with SAD 75 until June 30, and will work in both districts throughout July.
SAD 75 Superintendent Brad Smith said in an e-mail Tuesday that it “has been a pleasure” to work with King.
“He is a dedicated, conscientious administrator who has provided leadership not only to the high school, but across the district,” Smith wrote. “It is always enjoyable to stand next to him at the high school … and watch as he interacts with so many students, knowing them by name, and their activities and interests outside of school. He seems to be at nearly every student event … and his presence has sent an important message to those students and their families.”
Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.
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