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Principal picked for new high school in Culpeper

New Eastern View High School gets principal

Date published: 6/26/2007

BY DONNIE JOHNSTON

Roger Mello has been named the first principal of Eastern View High School in Culpeper.

Mello, who already lives in the Culpeper County near Rixeyville, has been principal at Rappahannock County High School since 2002.

He is the son of Jim and Sally Mello of Rixeyville and the brother of Craig Mello, winner of a Nobel Prize in medicine.

Mello, who began his educational career as a high school English teacher in Bedford County, worked as a school administrator in Campbell and Albemarle counties before taking the principal's job at Rappahannock.

In a press release from Culpeper County Schools, Mello, 42, said he hopes to use "a small school mentality" to lead Eastern View, which will open in the fall of 2008.

Culpeper's second high school will open with about 1,200 students, which will make it larger than the entire Rappahannock County school system.

Mello, who will earn $90,000 a year, will begin his duties on July 2.

He will work with central office staff and teachers and administrators at Culpeper High School during the 2007-08 school year while Eastern View is being completed.

"Bringing a planning principal on board one year before the opening of the school is a necessity," said Superintendent David Cox. "This is a critical time for reshaping high school education in Culpeper, and we need both high school leaders working together to ensure a smooth transition."

Mello holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in administration from Lynchburg College. He is currently working on his doctorate (educational leadership) at U.Va.

A principal search committee unanimously recommended Mello for the job.

An activities director is expected to be named for Eastern View by the end of the year.

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Date published: 6/26/2007