With Principal Henry Turner set to become superintendent of Reading Public Schools after his decade-long term as North’s principal, July 1, the search for an interim principal for the 2026-2027 school year began this May.

According to an email sent out by Superintendent Anna Nolin, North’s interim principal will be announced Friday, May 22.

Candidates’ applications for interim principal were due Friday, May 1. According to Nolin’s email, the selection process will involve a screening of candidates, followed by an interview of “selected, qualified candidates” with Nolin and the assistant superintendents. Then, after meeting with the finalists, Nolin will select the interim principal.

“Right now I am focused on finding an interim principal who can successfully work with me as a partner and lead our administrative team as we guide our school into our next era,” said Vice Principal Amy Winston.

She added, “Dr. Turner and I are a very successful partnership and I’m really hopeful that we can find an interim principal with complementary skills to mine so that together we can support North during this time of transition.”

Meanwhile, according to Winston, the search process for a permanent principal will be launched this fall so that North may hire a permanent principal in the winter of 2027.

“A successful principal is able to manage challenging situations that arise while keeping our big ‘ship’ of North steady and moving forward on our current course,” Winston said.

According to sophomore Celia Granofsky, a student in Turner’s advisory, Turner’s shoes will be hard to fill. “He obviously gets the job done as North’s principal, but what sets him apart is the way he supports the students and helps them along the way. I think those are the kind of qualities a principal here should have,” Granofsky said. 

According to Turner, he supports the choice to have an interim principal before hiring a permanently appointed principal. 

“It gives a nice buffer for the next principal to help the school continue the work that it’s doing, and to give the school an opportunity to figure out what direction it wants to go,” Turner said. 

According to Turner, the interim principal will allow North’s community to provide feedback on new, permanent leadership.

Turner added that he encourages people to involve themselves with the hiring process for the new principal.

“I would really impress upon students, staff, and families to give their feedback, get involved, put their names forward in terms of being on the hiring committee, and attend the finals rounds next year,” Turner said.