WINDHAM – With a new push to realign curriculum in the Windham-Raymond system so all district students experience similar instruction, several key administrative changes at the Windham High School were announced last week.

High school Principal Deb McAfee, who’s been in the position for 14 years, will become assistant principal while the district’s curriculum coordinator, Christopher Howell, will take over as principal of the high school in addition to his current duties.

McAfee, who took a leave of absence while recovering from brain cancer two years ago, is looking forward to the change and said it’s not related to her health. She said Windham High School is now the 10th largest school in the state with 1,050 students and the recent consolidation with Raymond is posing challenges that need to be addressed.

In addition, the district is aiming to follow a new set of core curriculum requirements, and it is thought the addition of Howell, who taught biology at the high school and served as assistant principal at the middle school before becoming curriculum coordinator six years ago, will help with the growing demands.

“This is a way for us to get the work done that has to be done here at the high school,” McAfee said. “We’ve looked at how we can reorganize because we haven’t been able to get extra positions in the budget, so this is a way to give us an extra person here in the building to help us work on the strategic plan.”

While Howell and MacAfee said the shift was voluntary, when asked if she was sad to step down, McAfee said, “I am, but it’s a good decision. I’m not leaving Windham High School. I’m not leaving the kids or the program or the faculty, but I get a little time back in my life, which is a good thing.”

Students won’t notice the change, McAfee said. She and the assistant principals, Kelli Deveaux and Mark Tinkham, will each continue in their respective roles. Tinkham, however, will have added duties of working with Howell regarding curriculum coordination.

The main reason for the change is a new set of curriculum requirements known as Common Core State Standards, which received unanimous approval by the Maine Legislature’s Education Committee March 7. The set of standards seeks to ensure all students receive similar instruction no matter who is teaching the course and that what is taught is in line with what top performing countries are teaching their students in the subjects of math, science, social studies and language arts.

Howell’s background as a high school teacher and expertise with curriculum throughout the district made him the natural choice to provide leadership as the high school ramps up efforts to institute the new standards starting in 2014, Superintendent Sandy Prince said.

“I think Deb would say this and I say it as well: Sometimes you just have to reorganize existing positions and people to push the organization forward,” Prince said. “So given that, it made a lot of sense to have Chris working as the building principal but at the same time with his talents with curriculum and the new RSU two years old to really make sure both middle schools really line up with the curriculum piece.”

McAfee will serve out this school year as principal with the staffing changes taking place over the summer as administrators gather to plan how to adjust existing curriculum. The administrators are also working on developing freshmen teams of 80 students that will rotate through a set of four teachers for the major subjects. McAfee said this effort will help teachers get to know their students better.

With the new demands on time the several changes will require, McAfee is glad to have Howell’s help.

“He’s going to help us reorganize so that we all take on pieces of it, and it’s manageable, and it gets done well,” she said. “It’s reorganizing to get the work done is truly what this is. And this is a way we saw without adding anything to the budget to get this work done.”

While the changes will impact the administration, Howell said the effort is worth it for students.

“If I’m a kid going through, regardless of whose pathway you take, you’re going to have the same experience,” Howell said. “We want to make sure a Windham High School diploma makes them competitive when they head to college or the workplace.”

Deb McAfee, right, principal of Windham High School, “passes” the school to Chris Howell, who will take over as principal starting next school year. Howell, now the school district’s curriculum coordinator, is seen as the logical choice to lead the high school’s incorporation of a new set of curriculum standards. McAfee, who has been principal for 14 years, will stay on as an assistant principal. (Staff photo by John Balentine)