Albany school board to vote tonight on principal, superintendent appointments

The Albany city school board will vote tonight on the appointments announced yesterday to the soon-to-be vacant positions of district superintendent and high school principal.

The board will act on the appointments of Raymond Colucciello, Ed.D., as interim superintendent and David C. McCalla, Ph.D., as principal of Albany High School.

Dr. Colucciello would take over for Superintendent Eva C. Joseph, Ed.D., who is retiring from public education July 10 following a 32-year career, the last five as superintendent.

Dr. McCalla would succeed Maxine Fantroy-Ford at 2,300-student Albany High. Mrs. Fantroy-Ford is returning to Giffen Memorial Elementary School for the 2009-10 school year.

McCalla was selected following an extensive search process that included four focus groups in March to develop the criteria for Albany High's next principal, according to the board. A 33-member committee then conducted interviews with prospective candidates.

McCalla worked 25 years in the Miami-Dade County public schools district, the nation's fourth-largest. McCalla was a science and math instructor early in his career before he served as assistant principal at the middle and high school levels before taking over as  principal of 1,300-student Homestead Middle School in 1993, where he served until 2000.

He was principal of 1,100-student Golden Gate Middle School in the Collier County (Fla.) Public Schools for two years before moving to New York state as principal of Nyack Middle School in 2002. He spent two years in that position and four as a district-level administrator in the Mount Vernon City School District, including two as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction and a year as assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services.

McCalla has served as an educational consultant for the past year.

"At Albany High, he will lead one of the Capital Region's largest high schools at a time when the district is poised to begin planning for significant changes to the educational program and high school facilities as part of its strategic plan," the board said. 

Dr. Colucciello returns to Albany, where he served for a brief time as interim principal at Public School 18 (now Delaware Community School) in 2002. He was superintendent of the Schenectady City School District from 1993-2001, and later spent three years as interim superintendent and superintendent in Ballston Spa (2005-08). He currently is completing a one-year term as interim superintendent in Voorheesville.

Dr. Colucciello will serve as interim superintendent while the board and district work in partnership with the community on a national search for Dr. Joseph's permanent successor.