Brianne Kelleher is leaving North Attleborough Middle School (NAMS) after serving as its principal for five years.
Kelleher was hired as the principal of the Dighton Rehoboth Middle School and will begin her new job this September. She succeeds Amy Younger-Terceira, who resigned in May. A search for a new principal for NAMS is underway.
Superintendent Dr. John Antonucci said he would miss Kelleher, but wished her well and thanked her for her work as principal.
“She has dedicated her entire career to the North Attleborough Public Schools, and I know she is excited to challenge herself in a new district,” Antonucci said. “She leaves big shoes to fill, and I wish her the very best.”
Kelleher acknowledged that the new job would be a big change for her.
“Although it can be scary, I feel that change can also be very positive,” Kelleher said. “While I will miss NAMS and NAPS in general, this change will allow me to not only broaden my scope as a principal but also gain further perspective as a building leader if I choose to move into a district-level leadership role in the future.”
Before becoming principal, Kelleher worked as a paraprofessional for eighth graders from 2001 to 2002. She was then hired as a full-time English teacher, a position she would hold for 14 years. In 2016, she became assistant principal before being promoted to principal in 2018.
As principal, Keheller was responsible for launching the Learning Recovery Program and the Unified Basketball program for students with disabilities. She said these programs were part of a wider goal—ensuring every student at NAMS was included in curricular and extracurricular activities.
“My biggest priority at NAMS was always to work to make all students feel supported and successful throughout their middle school years. Keheller said. “As a school community, we have accomplished a lot over the last five years in our continued effort to promote a positive school culture at NAMS.”
Keheller said her priority for Dighton-Rehoboth will be to learn more about the students and staff and bring her experience from NAMS to a new school.
“I will be working hard to learn all the finer details of the DRRSD in general. I have been in North Attleborough for 22 years, so leading NAMS comes fairly naturally at this point,” Kelleher said. “As I move forward with a new school, it will take me time to learn about how Dighton Middle School operates day-to-day, as well as meet the faculty, students, and families.”
While the new job is exciting for Keheller, she said she will miss working at NAMS and seeing students, families, faculty, and staff every day.
“I will miss the students and families of NAMS, as we are so lucky to be able to work with such amazing students each day, as well as have the support of NAMS families,” Keheller said. “I will also miss the wonderful staff that I have worked with for so many years, as well as all of those who are just starting their careers in education.”
