LITTLE SILVER – Red Bank Regional High School is in search of a new principal after the board of education accepted the resignation of Risa Clay at its April 3 meeting.
Clay officially went on sick leave April 3, and will remain there until Oct. 31, when her resignation is effective.
According to Red Bank Regional Superintendent Louis B. Moore, Clay, in her 27 years at the Ridge Road school, helped “create a culture of compassion that was focused entirely on improving the student experience, both academically and beyond.”
Despite her departure, Moore said Clay’s work will continue to impact the lives of current and future Red Bank Regional students.
Clay helped found The SOURCE, a school-based youth services program dedicated to helping students navigate their adolescence while managing academic and social pressures.
For 19 years The SOURCE has been a resource for learning support, counseling services, career planning, preventative health care, summer programs and scholarship opportunities.
Clay also developed and implemented a progression to college program for English Learning Language (ELL) students through a partnership with Brookdale Community College. The Andrew Kroon Memorial Scholarship has helped more than 60 Red Bank Regional ELL students continue their education.
“Risa was especially strong in bringing more services to our kids and did tremendous work to develop our ELL program. Those programs will be her legacy,” Moore said.
Moore said the search for Clay’s successor has already started and will continue through the month of May.
“We’ve posted the position and will begin interviewing candidates soon. We want to have the new principal appointed by Aug. 1,” More said.
Moore added that the ideal candidate is an instructional leader with experience in the high school setting.
Though Moore could not comment on the cause of Clay’s resignation, the principal spoke out in 2016 about being diagnosed with dysphonia, a neurological disorder that causes involuntary spasms in the muscles of the voice box or larynx.
In a letter published on the school’s website that year, Clay revealed she had been battling this disorder for six years prior, a fight that included medical treatment like injections into her larynx.
