Mr. Kevin Tracey Will Be New RMHS Principal
New RMHS Principal, Mr. Kevin Tracey.
May 18, 2021
A father. A husband. An avid golfer. A book lover. A fisherman. A sport coach.
And now principal of Reading Memorial High School.
Kevin Tracey, current principal of John Glenn Middle School in Bedford, was announced as the principal of RMHS on April 15,2021. He will begin work on July 1. Tracey has a background in teaching history and English at a high school level, but began to work in administrative positions in 2006. He began as the assistant principal at Bedford High School, then transitioned as the principal of John Glenn Middle School 6 years later in 2012.
RMHS has had a significant amount of administrative changes within the last few years. Principal Bakr left the school with Mrs.Boynton as his replacement in 2018. In 2019, Mr. McSweeney stepped down as assistant principal and was replaced by Mr. Murray. And now in 2021, with Mrs.Boynton’s departure, Mr.Tracey is filling her role.
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With new administration comes a period of learning and gaining connections with staff and students.One advantage Mr.Tracey has coming into his new position is his knowledge of Reading. He was first introduced to the town over a decade ago through an assistant principal group organized by former assistant principal and current drivers ed instructor Mr.Scarpitto. Since then, his connections and knowledge of the community has grown. He has a number of friends who are a part of the community, as both staff and parents. Mr.Tracey admits to feeling as though he is not going into this position blindly. “I know a lot about Reading. The parts that impress me are the pride and the tradition,” said Tracey. Students can look forward to the strong pride and spirit upheld throughout the school.
He is well prepared and excited to join the RMHS community. He says: “I just can’t wait to get back to high school to be honest. I miss working with highschoolers; the age of students, I miss working with the energy of a high school… I have no reservations.”
When it comes to changes, Mr.Tracey wants to take it easy his first year. He does not want to implement much change until he understands the dynamic of RMHS. As administrative shifts are made, community members are often worried about the level of change, especially from someone who does not know the ins and outs of the school. This is not something Reading community members should have to worry about in this upcoming school year. Mr.Tracey says: “What’s most important to me is to start building relationships, getting to meet people, really listening to what’s going on. I think once I can learn more and figure out what the concerns and issues are then we can start addressing them.”
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Many of Mr.Tracey’s passions align with those of RMHS and what the school strives for. In a time when there has been lots of social unrest, Mr.Tracey pushes for conversation, even when it can be uncomfortable. “I’ve always been passionate about social justice issues, conversations around race, equity, certainly literacy is very important to me, I’m a very avid reader myself, but I love promoting student reading and writing, student voice, leadership.”
Some other passions of his include sports and the arts. He has a love for musicals and concerts. According to a prior article on Mr.Tracey, when he was a teacher, he coached volleyball, skiing, and outdoor track. Though he does not coach anymore, he still has a love for sports. He shared his excitement for getting involved in all of these in the upcoming school year.
One thing that stands out about Mr.Tracey in his upcoming time at RMHS is his deep enthusiasm to begin and get to know the community. He said, “I am very excited about this opportunity, I can’t even put it in words how excited I am.”
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“I’m not perfect,” Mr. Tracey said. He elaborated, explaining that a transition to a new school is never fully seamless. It can be refreshing for a student to see that administrators are human just like them, and have both good and bad days. Mr.Tracey said: “There’s been some high points and some really low points. It’s not always easy. I often say I love my job, but I don’t love it every day. At the high school, there are some challenging situations you deal with.”
Mr.Tracey wants everyone to know that he is always there for them and is hoping to create a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment for every single student. “I care deeply about kids and I want every student to feel safe and welcomed at RMHS. And really I’m available. I’m not someone who goes into my office. I like to be out and about, I like talking to people, so just encourage them to come out and introduce themselves to me. I love it when people bring up issues and they want to have open conversations about real issues and things that bother them. To me it’s important that we address issues publicly and we really have an open discourse.”
The RMHS community prepares to say a final goodbye to current principal Ms.Boynton as she transitions to being the principal of Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton, MA and warmly welcomes Mr.Tracey. Staff and students alike send well wishes to both in their new positions.
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