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Vol. LXI, No. 51
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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Vol. LXI, No. 51
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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Paul Stellato, the headmaster of an independent coed day school in Roanoke, Va., has been selected to lead Princeton Day School.
Mr. Stellato succeeds Judy Fox who retired this year in June after seven years at the school. Until Mr. Stellato takes up his new post next July 1, interim head Lila Lohr, who preceded Ms. Fox as head of school between 1995 and 2000, will serve in the position.
An experienced educational leader who served for six years as headmaster of North Cross School, Mr. Stellato was appointed by a unanimous decision of Princeton Day School’s board of trustees.
“This appointment is the result of a nationwide search that began nearly a year ago and included input from every corner of the PDS community,” said Princeton Day School Board of Trustees Chairman Jack Hall. “We are indebted to those alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and students whose valuable participation in the process was critical to this successful conclusion.”
The board’s selection followed an enthusiastic recommendation from a search committee that cited Mr. Stellato’s “character, breadth of experience, life-long commitment to independent school education, and leadership qualities.” Prior to his tenure at North Cross, Mr. Stellato spent 13 years at the Millbrook School, New York, as an English teacher, coach, director of summer programs, director of college counseling, dean of faculty, and assistant headmaster. His early teaching and coaching career includes Williston Northampton School, Blair Academy, Albany Academy, and the Hotchkiss School.
A graduate of Hamilton College and Columbia University, where he earned an M.F.A. degree in writing, Mr. Stellato has been an active soccer and ice hockey coach throughout his career. On a visit to the school earlier this month, he told students “stand together and imagine who we will become and what we will achieve together.”
The school recently inaugurated a $25 million campus expansion and renovation of its library, arts, and athletic facilities. It expects a successful completion of its $50 million capital campaign this year. Mr. Stellato will take up residence at the school with his wife Maureen. The couple has two daughters: Katie, a senior at the University of Virginia, and Lauren, who is completing her senior year at North Cross.