ECONOMY — The newly formed Ambridge Area Middle School will have a familiar face to greet students when doors open next school year.
Thomas McKelvey, who has served as principal of State Street Elementary School in Baden, was approved to become middle school principal at a June 13 meeting of the Ambridge Area School Board. The board earlier this year agreed to reconfigure from a junior high to a middle school setting, housing sixth- to eighth-graders in the same building in Economy and providing a more focused curriculum.
Previously, the school sent students to elementary school through sixth grade and then to the junior high school in seventh grade.
“We are pleased to have Mr. McKelvey continue to serve the Ambridge Area School District,” district Superintendent Jo Welter said in a prepared statement. “He is a caring and committed educator. He is a person of great integrity. He will serve the students, teachers and community of our new middle school with enthusiasm and dedication.”
Jo Ann Hoover, who has been the principal at Highland Elementary School, was approved to become principal at State Street Elementary. Her starting date is to be determined.
The board also hired Laura Burns to fill the opening of principal at Highland Elementary School in Harmony Township. Her starting date is also to be determined.
“Dr. Burns is committed to improving teaching and learning in the Ambridge Area School District,” Welter said. “We are pleased to have her as a part of our team.”