New Face in Knollwood Principal's Office

It was an arduous, earnest search for the perfect candidate.

That's how Fair Haven school officials described the search and find of new Knollwood School Principal Kevin Davis who was appointed to the post in a special Fair Haven Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night.

Davis, a Brick Township resident and father of three will head to the principal's office on July 1, when soon-to-be former Knollwood Principal Nelson Ribon moves up to the superintendent role and Kathleen Cronin retires from the top spot.

Davis, who was most recently assistant principal of St. Rose High school in Belmar, was deemed the "perfect fit" for Knollwood by Cronin.

"He is a very warm, student-centered administrator," Cronin said. "Watching him interacting with our students made it clear that he thoroughly enjoys being out and about getting to know the student body. At Wednesday's special board meeting, Mr. Davis again had an opportunity to get to know our students, as many children were on hand to meet and greet him. By the time the meeting and celebration ended, Mr. Davis knew their names and I am betting that he will remember them when he sees them again next September!"

Unlike the situation with finding a new superintendent, a search consultant was not hired to seek out the new principal.

Cronin described the process of choosing the new principal as follows:

•  The Principal Search Team was comprised of five Knollwood teachers, four administrators and three board of education Personnel Committee members;

• That team interviewed a cadre of candidates, narrowing the field down to three finalists;

• The board interviewed the three finalists, asking them a variety of “scenario-based” questions, and "Davis rose to the top quickly based on his personality and responses";

• Before making a final decision, the board and administration invited Davis to spend a day at Knollwood to see how he might interact with students and staff.

"Mr. Davis spent last Thursday, May 23, at Knollwood, where he visited classes, chatted with kids in the cafeteria at lunch, met quite a few staff members, and even attended the fifth grade DARE graduation," Cronin said. "Based on the ease at which he interacted with the Knollwood community and his obvious enthusiasm about our students, staff and programs, we quickly decided that Mr. Davis should be the next Knollwood principal."

Before becoming assitant principal at St. Rose, Davis was a social studies and computer applications teacher at Barnegat High School. Prior to the start of his career in education, he worked for four years at the GSA Office of the Inspector General in Washington, DC.

Davis earned a bachelor of arts degree from Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland and a master of arts degree in Education from Seton Hall University. He also has an Ed. Specialist Degree in Education Leadership, Management, and Policy from Seton Hall.