The Quakertown Community School District has hired two assistant principals to give the high school three new administrative leaders when school opens on Sept. 3.
Jennifer Carolla and Adam Dinney were unanimously approved by the school board on Aug. 8. Carolla was the counseling department chairperson at Emmaus High School in the East Penn School District and Dinney was assistant principal at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District.
They join new Principal Mattias van ‘t Hoenderdaal in forming the high school’s leadership team, joining Assistant Principal Jason Magditch and Juan Soto, a teacher on special Assignment. Magditch was acting principal for the last three months of the school year when principal Dr. David Finnerty became assistant superintendent of the Twin Valley School District.
“I am very confident they’ll add great things to the district,” van ‘t Hoenderdaal said of Carolla and Dinney. “They’ve had success and achievement in previous positions, and I’m certain they’ll be continuing that trend in Quakertown and making a difference in the lives of our students. They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge that will have great benefits for our district.
“Jason has been a major help in our transition, and I’m really excited about our entire team moving forward.”
Carolla was named 2017-18 Counselor of the Year by the Lehigh Carbon School Counselors Association.
“She brings a tremendous expertise in school counseling,” van ‘t Hoenderdaal said. “She revamped the organization and structure of the K-12 counseling department and her decisions greatly benefited students.”
Van ‘t Hoenderdaal described Dinney as a “systems thinker. Adam not only cares about his students as individuals but has identified areas of need schoolwide and implemented systems to track students who may be at risk of dropping out.”
The availability of these positions is evidence of the district’s strong administrative bench. Dr. Camil Culbreath, assistant high school principal, left in July to become the principal at Stewart Middle School in Norristown. Another assistant principal, Stephen Kimball, is headed to the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
“I have worked with a lot of great people here, on administrative teams and with students, families and teachers,” Culbreath said. “Being here gave me a great opportunity to see a high-performing district from behind the scenes and I will absolutely take these lessons with me moving forward.”
Gary Weckselblatt is director of communications for Quakertown Community School District.
