WINDHAM – Moving won’t take long for the new principal of Windham Middle School.

Charlie Haddock, who has taught at the middle school since 1992 and served as the assistant principal since 2004, has been hired to take the school’s top job, replacing Hal Shortsleeve, who is retiring later this month after more than 30 years of service.

Haddock, a lifelong resident of Windham, officially takes over July 1.

Both men couldn’t be more excited, with Shortsleeve saying Haddock will be a good fit.

“Charlie and I have been working together for many years,” Shortsleeve said Tuesday. “I kind of hand-picked him out of the staff years ago when I needed an assistant. I remember calling him in his car and saying, ‘The position is open, are you interested?’ and he immediately said yes. When he was a member of the teaching staff, I put him in a leadership position as a teacher.

“So this is something he’s been working toward,” Shortsleeve continued. “And the school’s going to be in great shape with him at the helm. He’s respected by the staff, the students, and I know the community is really going to like it. This is a good thing for Windham Middle School and I couldn’t be happier.”

Superintendent Sandy Prince is looking forward to working with Haddock, saying he was one of 14 applicants and one of eight interviewed.

“Personally, I’m so impressed with his passion for being a school leader,” Prince said. “Secondly, he’s an incredibly bright gentleman. And thirdly, he has such high respect from his colleagues.”

Haddock’s salary has yet to be set. The school board will begin negotiating sometime later this month to set administrative salaries for the next school year.

Haddock, whose wife, Sandy, is the head cook at the middle school kitchen, is a 1970 graduate of Windham High School and attended kindergarten, elementary and junior high school in town. He resides at 472 River Road, within sight of the home in which he was raised.

“I’ve lived on River Road all my life,” said Haddock. “I haven’t moved more than a couple hundred feet from where I was brought up on River Road.”

Haddock went to Bowdoin College, graduating with a degree in music with a minor concentration in mathematics. After graduation, the friendly and outgoing Haddock, who also serves as the public information officer for the River Road Public Advisory Committee, moved back home and went to work for his father as a building contractor.

After 18 years, he decided to switch careers and become a substitute teacher while earning a teacher’s certificate from University of Southern Maine. He later earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from New England College in New Hampshire.

Asked how his experiences in construction compare to his education career, Haddock said, “It’s the same in that you’re teaching individuals. Many times, I’d have people who were just starting out and they’d need instruction. As a teacher, you are really constructing the mind of an individual. What the construction aspect did for me was to give me some knowledge of how to deal with people, especially adults. So for me coming in here, that groundwork helps me with what I do now.”

In his new position, Haddock aims to “continue the work that we’ve done as a middle school under Hal Shortsleeve,” namely increasing student achievement and striving for success based on a student’s emotional and educational needs.

“It’s not just one, it’s the whole child and moving that child ahead even further than what we have done to date,” Haddock said.

As Shortsleeve’s assistant principal the last seven years, Haddock said he “learned many things from Hal in terms of working within the organizational level and looking at a school globally, and figuring out how to manage the school from outside the classroom. As a teacher you look at your classroom environment, you understand that, but you don’t necessarily understand all the aspects that make the organization work. And from Hal, I gained the knowledge to manage that and work with adults to help make the school successful.”

Haddock, married for 37 years, and his wife have three children: Elishia Townsend, who lives in Bangor with her three kids; Jason Haddock, who lives in Windham with one child; and Amy Grenier, who has three children and lives in Auburn. In all, Haddock has seven grandchildren to help keep him busy when he’s away from the kids at Windham Middle School.

“I’m kind of workaholic,” he said. “But if I’m not at work, I’m either with the grandkids or at camp on Sebago Lake. Or I may be walking on the beach, just being outside trying to unwind and appreciate nature.”

Incoming Windham Middle School Principal Charlie Haddock, left, is replacing Hal Shortsleeve, right, who has served as the school principal for the last 30 years. (Staff photo by John Balentine)