New leaders will start the fall school year at Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School and Health Sciences Charter School in Buffalo.
James Preston Newton has been named principal at South Buffalo's Timon to succeed Linda Cimusz, who had been serving on an interim basis at the Catholic high school for boys.
“The Board realizes that the selection of a new principal will determine the future of our beloved school," said Board of Trustees chairman Michael Burns in a statement, "and in Jim we have a highly qualified individual with an outstanding record of accomplishments that will serve our current and future student body of young men.”
Newton most recently served as interim principal at Frontier High School in Hamburg and is an adjunct professor at Niagara and St. Bonaventure universities. In 2017 he retired as Superintendent of Schools for Tonawanda City Schools. Before that, he was a secondary school principal in Tonawanda and a middle school assistant principal for Amherst Central Schools.
Newton said he strives to promote a positive school climate for all students.
“I am very excited about this opportunity while realizing the challenges confronting the school,” he said. “At the same time, I know the long and rich tradition of Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School and the commitment and dedication of the Board of Trustees and other stakeholders and their determination to restore this tradition is the primary reason I want to come out of retirement and continue my career.”
On the same day, Health Sciences Charter School has announced a new Head of School.
The Board of Trustees has appointed veteran educator Wendy Richards, the former Director of the Aloma D. Johnson Charter School and an Adjunct Professor in Urban Education at Canisius College.
“I am looking forward to working with the talented teachers and staff at Health Sciences Charter School,” said Richards. “Over the past nine years, Health Sciences has established a unique program focusing on pathways for high school students interested in careers in healthcare. With its impressive graduation rate that exceeds that state average, I am eager to build on the school’s success and expand vital programs for our students.”
She begins her post at the Ellicott Street charter school in the city's Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus on July 1.
