Supt. Brian Ricca gets his first new administrative hire now that East Greenwich High School Principal Ken Hopkins has tendered his resignation, effective Aug. 21.

“I am grateful for his service to EG,” said Ricca. “We will work to hire an excellent education leader for EGHS.”

There is a job posting (HERE) on School Spring now, with a start date of Aug. 22.

Hopkins took over as principal at East Greenwich High School at a challenging time – fall 2020, just before school was going to resume in person following the abrupt closure because of Covid that March, and with a new assistant principal too (Jonathan Mendelsohn).

Somehow that first year, as difficult as the Covid restrictions were, went fairly smoothly, with a return of sports (albeit with masks and shortened seasons), students back in school full time by April, and a picture-perfect graduation on Carcieri Field that June.

As many educators have said, this past 2021-22 school year ended up feeling harder – the lost learning and stalled emotional growth for students and the Covid surges and fatigue for everyone. Supt. Alexis Meyer, who retired in June, admitted coming to the decision to retire earlier than she had anticipated because of the pandemic.

Hopkins sent this email message to EGHS families on Monday:

As the job posting has recently been made public, I do want to let you know that I have tendered my resignation as principal of EGHS. I have accepted a position in another district.

I am proud of the work we have accomplished together, and am thankful for the numerous times we came together as a school community to overcome the challenges presented during these last two pandemic years. Thank you for the opportunity to serve in this role.

Please be on the lookout for further communications from Dr. Mendelsohn ([email protected]) regarding new student orientation information and other back to school related items.

I will be around for a bit in the building prior to starting my new position in mid-August. I wish you all the best in the upcoming year and beyond. I hope you have a wonderful summer.