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LYNN - Former science teacher and guidance councilor Amy Dunn will be Classical High School's next vice principal, incoming Principal Eugene Constantino said Thursday.

Dunn, an LCHS graduate, will assume the position vacated by Constantino when he was promoted to replace retiring principal Warren White.

The decision comes after six candidates interviewed with a panel that included White, who is on the job until Aug. 31, Constantino and several members of the school staff.

"I am very happy (with the decision)," said Constantino. "Amy has been here as a guidance councilor and she is a former teacher, she has a good relationship with the staff and has a close relationship with the students here. I am looking forward to working with her on reaching our goals for the year."

Dunn will join longtime Vice Principal Richard Sackowich and former Freshman Academy Principal Judith Taylor, who will police freshmen as a guidance councilor this year on Constantino's administrative team - a group he says he is relieved to have in place.

"I am actually breathing a sigh of relief," he said. "Now I know I am going to have some help."

Along with Dunn, Constantino promoted two department heads this week. Teacher Jerry Burke will lead the English department this year, while Gayle Richardson will take over as social studies head.

Classical is scheduled to re-open on time as contractors finish up a two-year construction project on the school. With two weeks left to go, Constantino says there is still a lot of moving around to do, but the school will be ready.

"I am so amazed at the amount of work they have done," he said. "You look around and you see there is so much to do, but then you see that they are doing it and you know you are going to be ready for the start of the year."

LYNN - Classical High School Vice Principal Eugene Constantino will be the school's next principal, Superintendent Catherine Latham announced Thursday, one day after conducting interviews for the position.

A 32-year veteran of the Lynn Public Schools, Constantino has worked at Classical for 27 years as a special education teacher, guidance counselor, and for the past three years, vice principal. He is also well known in the community from his 19-year stint as the school's varsity girls' basketball coach.

After hearing interviews by Constantino, fellow Vice Principal Richard Sakowich, Classical Freshman Academy Principal Judith Taylor and Beverly's Briscoe Middle School Principal Matthew Poska, Latham took little time to settle on a candidate she believed interviewed the best and displayed a clear vision for the future of Classical.

"I am thrilled and I think Gene is the right choice for the school at this time," Latham said Thursday. "He interviewed well, his resume is excellent. He has experience in guidance, special ed, he has a good knowledge of how we use data and he has spent time in the school administration as well. I think he is going to make a wonderful principal."

While Latham made her decision less than 24 hours after the interview, she said the choice was not an easy one. She said all four candidates demonstrated attributes she was looking for when filling the position and all four were well known to Latham and members of the selection committee.

"We had four very, very good candidates," she said. "And I think all four interviewed well and would have been good choices. But I just feel Gene has an intimate knowledge of what a high school needs moving forward and we are fortunate to have him in our system."

A popular figure among students and faculty, Constantino, a Peabody resident, made no secret of his love for the school and his burning desire to become principal during his interview, and displayed a quiet confidence upon hearing the news of his hire Thursday.

"I am ecstatic. This position is one that has seen some great principals, many of whom I have worked under, and I just feel honored that Dr. Latham thinks that I am the right person to do the job," he said. "We have been going forward here in a good direction and we have had a lot of great academic honors here and I just can't say enough about the job that (retiring Principal Warren White) has done here in the last five years, and the same goes for (former principals William Frost and Nicholas Kostan). I have a lot to live up to."

One of the things Constantino made very clear in his interview was his desire to hold the principal position for an extended period of time, and he says he has already outlined a list of goals he will share with the superintendent, department heads and teachers.

"I have outlined a plan that I am going to discuss with Dr. Latham and we are obviously going to be facing some budgetary challenges moving forward," he said. "So I want to meet with department heads and go over the district plan and after that I want to meet with teachers. The teachers that have been here and know me have been very supportive and we have some new teachers coming in that I would like to meet with and make sure everyone is on the same page."

Constantino will also be meeting this week to discuss the makeup of his administration, which could feature both Sakowich and Taylor.

Aside from filling his former position, Constantino must fill his Social Studies and English Department Head positions before school begins in September.

LYNN - While Superintendent Catherine Latham was not ready to make a decision on who will lead Classical High School after a night of interviews Wednesday, one thing is guaranteed; the school's new principal will have a lot of energy and a strong background in the city.

Dozens of onlookers packed the small staff development room at the School Administration Building Wednesday to witness four candidates, including three current LCHS employees, sit before a panel of administrators, School Committee members and parents, who asked a variety of questions ranging from curriculum philosophy to discipline and student safety.

Current Classical Vice Principal Richard Sackowich led off the evening followed by Beverly's Briscoe Middle School Principal Matthew Poska, fellow Classical VP Eugene Constantino and Classical Freshman Academy Principal Judith Taylor.

Both Constantino and Sackowich relied on their experience working at the school to carry them through the interviews, as both men touted past success and a desire to keep the school moving forward.

In his 27th year at the school, Constantino said his tenure and experience should not be mistaken for complacency as he vowed to remain energetic and committed to moving the school forward long-term.

"We still have a long way to go," said Constantino. "But I think Classical is a great school and I am very compassionate and I tend to get emotional about this school because of all of the years I have been here."

Sackowch has been in the system for over two decades himself at various schools, and said his recent experience getting to know the entire faculty and student body at Classical would carry him as principal.

Taylor 's interview focused mainly on the successes of the Freshman Academy , which opened up at the former Classical High School , now the Fecteau-Leary Junior/Senior High School on North Common Street , two years ago.

Taylor touted the academic success of the freshman students as well as the close relationship with parents and faculty she has demonstrated over the past two years, and told the panel that her experience leading the small, lightly supported academy would help her lead the entire student body.

"I don't like saying this because I don't want to sound braggy, but the thought of leading the school on O'Callaghan Way excites me because I see all of the help I am going to get. I can't imagine having four great guidance councilors that I can go to for help and two dedicated assistant principals that can be there for support because, at the academy, I was doing all of that."

Although Poska was the only candidate without a tie to Classical, his ties to the city are still strong. A Lynn native and Lynn English graduate, Poska taught history at Marshall Middle School and LEHS before leaving the city several years ago to pursue administrative opportunities, serving as Vice Principal of Saugus and Beverly high schools and eventually principal at the Briscoe Middle School .

While others relied on experience, Poska spoke of his future goals in the city, hitting on several key concepts near and dear tot he hearts of Latham and her staff, including data-driven decision making and standards-based instruction.

"My goal has always been a high school principal and to come back and give back to the school district where I grew up," he said, "We need to emphasize the fact that this is a school and a learning environment and my job as principal is to support not only the students, but also his most vital resources- his staff."

Next year will be a challenging one for the school as members of the academy, along with incoming ninth-graders, will all be heading to O'Callaghan Way for the first time. All four candidates had strong ideas for easing the transition, and vowed to work with students and their families to make sure they are successful by remaining visible and accessible to everyone.

Wednesday night was the only round of interviews scheduled for the position, and with four strong candidates it appeared that the panel was torn as to which direction to go in immediately following the meetings.

Latham will meet with the panel this week and says she hopes to make a decision in the near future.