PORTLAND – Superintendent Jim Morse is seeking a replacement for Carol Dayn, the principal at East End Community School, who has resigned from the position effective at the end of June.

Morse said Tuesday that Dayn is leaving “for her own reasons,” not because she is being removed from the position.

Morse also said he believes that Dayn’s decision to leave wasn’t precipitated by his plan to eliminate three teacher-leader positions at the elementary school in the coming year and hire an assistant principal.

The three teacher leaders will return to the classroom full time and will no longer have administrative duties, he said.

Dayn has been East End’s principal since it opened in 2006. In a letter to parents, she said “it is time for someone else to lead East End into the next phase of its development.”

Dayn noted that the school is developing an Expeditionary Learning program similar to those at King Middle School and Casco Bay High School, which feature real-world, interdisciplinary learning projects.

“Working together with administration and teachers, you will be able to find a leader with the qualities needed to take the school ever closer to our mission and vision,” Dayn said in her letter to parents.

Dayn didn’t respond to requests for an interview.

Several parents of East End students said they are optimistic about a change in leadership at the school, where 85 percent of the 407 students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches and 40 percent are immigrants who are learning to speak English.

“We appreciate the work that Carol Dayn has done and we’re excited for new leadership opportunities ahead,” said Jaime Parker, who is a parent of two East End students and a member of the school’s greening committee.

The East End jobs of principal and assistant principal are among four open principal positions in the district. The others are principal of Deering High School, now held by Ken Kunin, who will resign at the end of June, and assistant principal of King Middle School, now held by Kathleen Bouchard, who will retire.

In addition, Morse said he plans to work with Peaks Island and Cliff Island residents to determine future oversight of their schools, which have 53 and three students, respectively.

The vacant principal’s position they shared has been eliminated in the district’s proposed budget for the coming school year.

 

Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at: kbouchard@pressherald.com