The next principal of New Canaan High School said Monday that he “could not be more happy” to assume the role next academic year.
William Egan. Credit: Michael Dinan
Bill Egan told the Board of Education at its regular meeting that hearing his name tied to the NCHS principal job was “a little bit humbling.”
“Being the principal of New Canaan High School is truly an honor that I am humbled by, I am thrilled by and I cannot wait to lead your high school,” Egan said during the school board’s meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. “Honestly, New Canaan High School is one of best high schools in the state if not the country, and it’s got an amazing academic, arts and athletics program, and I look forward to leading it into the future so thank you all so very, very much.”
The district announced last month that Egan had been hired and the Board of Ed meeting marked his formal introduction as the next principal at NCHS.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said Egan since 2009 has served as principal Wamogo Regional High School in Region 6 in Litchfield, and that this past year, the school was one of two schools in the state and 51 nationally to be recognized as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School.
In the past, Egan has served as assistant principal at Brookfield High School, as dean of students at Norwalk High School, Luizzi said, “and his teaching experience prior to that included high school level business, middle school level language arts and mathematics.”
“Mr. Egan is an innovative and intuitive educational leader who is passionate about helping all students succeed and excel,” Luizzi said. “He is dedicated to developing and nurturing a positive school culture and climate, and values the partnership between schools and the community. There are many things that helped distinguish Bill throughout this process, especially his expertise as an instructional leader, with a deep understanding of current standards and assessment practices, and his expertise with the implementation of technology into curriculum, as a transformational tool.”
Board member Sheri West said she had served on the search committee for the next NCHS principal and could “attest to the very thorough nature of the national search.” West said that what stuck out for her about Egan included his “innovative communication forms and outreach within the student body” and technology programs.
Board Secretary Dionna Carlson, who also served on the committee said, “we were all very impressed with [Egan’s] depth and breadth of experience.”
“You have very large shoes to fill but I’m very confident you will fill those shoes, so thank you for joining us,” she said.
During the meeting, the school board also welcomed Dr. Jo-Ann Keating as the new director of finance and operations, and she thanked the group.
Luizzi offered wide praise to Gary Kass, the district’s director of human resources, saying that he showed great leadership in a year that saw two such high-level positions filled.
It was “thanks to Gary’s hard that I think we were able work able to identify and hire two outstanding educational leaders to join our ranks here in New Canaan,” the superintendent said.