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South Hadley High School principal finalist Richard Manley meets the public

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Manley received questions on topics ranging from his time as a Fulbright scholar in Bangalore, India, to his thoughts on bullying.

RICHARD_MANLEY.JPGRichard Manley, a finalist for South Hadley High School principal, spent the day at the school on Tuesday.

SOUTH HADLEY – The public had a chance to meet one of the candidates for principal of South Hadley High School on Tuesday.

Richard Manley, who currently teaches history at the high school in Windham, N.H., which he founded and where he previously served as principal, spent the day in South Hadley, talking to students, teachers and parents.

Tuesday night, the public had a chance to meet and question him on a broad range of topics, from his time in Bangalore, India, where he was a student on a Fulbright grant, to his thoughts on bullying.

Manley said he was eager to go back to being a principal. “It’s what I do and what I know,” he told his audience of about two dozen.

He told them schools must keep touch with parents so there are no surprises when grades come out. Parents want to know not just “How is my child doing?” but “What can we do about that?” he said.

The Internet is useful in that respect, he said, but “you can’t replace one-on-one communication.”

He believes that administrators should be visible to both teachers and students. One of his favorite places for informal conversation is the cafeteria, where he spent time Tuesday asking students about their school.

“What they communicated was very positive feedback,” said Manley.

“There’s an air of anticipation that the school is ready to develop the next chapter of its history.”

Manley said schools have to be serious about bullying prevention because “it’s not just a safety and emotional issue, it’s an academic issue.” If students are worrying about bullies, they can’t concentrate on their studies.

Manley taught middle school for five years and high school for 15 years. He was principal of North Middlesex Regional High School and assistant principal of the Hollis- Brookline district in New Hampshire. He earned a certificate in school administration and learned to speak Spanish.

He also earned a law degree from Suffolk University, but returned to the field of education because he found it “more personally satisfying,” he said.

The search for a new principal began when current South Hadley High School principal Daniel T. Smith announced in February that he would leave his post at the end of the year.


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