Royle School’s next principal has been named by the Board of Education: Dean Ketchum, a former elementary and middle school teacher, principal and education official, will take over on July 1 from John Grasso, who was named interim principal in the summer of 2014.
Royle School PTO
We think Dean Ketchum, just named principal of Royle School, can expect “a Royle welcome.”
Here’s an announcement about Ketchum’s appointment that the school district sent out Wednesday to staff and parents:
Last evening, by a unanimous vote, the Darien Board of Education appointed Dean Ketchum as principal of Royle Elementary School, effective July 1, 2016.
Mr. Ketchum graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor of arts in Classics and went on to earn both his master’s in education and administrative certificate.
Mr. Ketchum began his career as an elementary teacher at Madison Elementary School in Norman, Oklahoma. After teaching first, third, fourth and fifth grades at Madison for seven years, he moved to the University of Oklahoma, where he served as senior program development specialist at the College of Continuing Education.
Mr. Ketchum then served as the executive director of school improvement at the Oklahoma Department of Education for three years before moving to New York in 2003.
In New York, Mr. Ketchum served first as a middle school math teacher and assistant principal at PS 217 before being appointed principal at PS 212 (Midtown West School), where he served for ten years.
In 2013, Mr. Ketchum was named director of campus and elementary principal at Hunter College Campus School, a K-12 campus with over 1,600 students and more than 100 faculty members.
Mr. Ketchum was selected as the next principal of Royle after a nationwide search and a review of more than 60 applicants.
Dr. Brenner,superintendent of schools and the chair of the search committee, cited Mr. Ketchum’s passion for education, his love of students and the connections he made with parents and staff at his current school as the most important reasons for being the choice as the Royle principal.
Additionally, Mr. Ketchum has extensive experience working with social and emotional learning and the Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Workshop in a similar, high-performing school.
A transition plan for Mr. Ketchum to meet school and community members is being planned at the district level and will be shared prior to the end of the school year.