Who will our new principal be?
May 20, 2019
Feature Photo By: Alexis Drummond- A photo of Dr. Fay hangs in the front hallway between the main office and the attendance office. Dr. Fay is Rangeview’s sixth principal.
What first started out as a rumor, turned out to be true. Dr. Ronald Fay is leaving Rangeview after 12 years — five years as assistant principal and seven years as principal.
Fay will be transferring over to Gateway High School as principal.
“The principal position at Gateway is unique, and it will allow me to lead some innovative and aggressive school improvement efforts through an Early Action Plan that was approved by the Colorado State Board of Education,” said Fay in a letter on RHS’s website. “I am excited for this new challenge and the ability to continue to serve in Aurora Public Schools, which has been my home for 12 years.”
So who will Rangeview’s new principal be for next year?
APS has said they should announce the new principal by the last day of school — a week from today. Rangeview will have an interim principal for the 2019-2020 school year, they said, and hopefully, that same person will continue to be principal if approved by the RHS community.
“I don’t feel like [him leaving] will affect me greatly because I lacked interactions with him and he was portrayed in different lights. It’ll be interesting and may be difficult having an interim principal, but I think we’ll manage,” said Nathan Berhe, a junior here at Rangeview.
The current principal at Gateway — Mehran Ahmed — is an interim principal. This was his first and only year at Gateway.
“I’m a little upset that Mr. Ahmed isn’t coming back, but with all of our teachers leaving as well, it’s like a new chapter of Gateway,” said Malia Jimerson, a junior at Gateway.
It is reported that Gateway will be taken over by the state if they do not improve their school rating. Gateway has gone through three principals in the last four years. Fay will be the fourth principal in five years.
“Learning the process of a new principal is always challenging,” said Melanie Lawhorn, principal’s secretary at Gateway. “You have to learn how to adapt to their methods, schedules and personalities, so, it usually takes the first few months to learn their ways.”
Many staff and students at Gateway are hoping to see a change to their school.
“I hope the change is positive with him coming,” said Anna Cordova, a junior at Gateway. “Since we are now considered a ‘turn over school,’ I hope things change, but I hope we don’t have to take a step back in order to go forward.”
Here are some of the stories The Review has written over major events that have happened while Fay was principal:
- We are the difference between an inconvenience and a tragedy
- RHS Unified wins Unified Program of Year
- Death blow for Rangeview’s business department
- An inside look at the state champs
- Mr. Fay tries to tackle achievement gap
- Where will Rangeview go now?
- A deafening silence at Rangeview
- Long-time football coach Dave Gonzales fired
- The Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair
“Please know that the highlight of my career has been the privilege of serving as principal of Rangeview High School, “ said Fay. “It has been a tremendous honor to work with the staff, students, and parents in this dynamic and inspiring community. Please know that our staff members remain committed to serving our students and families.”
As well as Dr. Fay leaving, Rangeview will be saying goodbye to two of our assistant principals: Mrs. Christy Hartford and Mr. Bryan Gasior.
Mrs. Hartford will be moving to Oregon, and Mr. Gasior will be the principal at Aurora Frontier P-8.
With all the changes, many in the RHS community would like to thank Fay, Hartford, and Gasior for everything they have done for Rangeview High School.
