Liza Mockeridge named new assistant principal of York High School

Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

YORK, Maine — Liza Mockeridge has been named the new assistant principal of York High School.

Mockeridge, currently associate principal at Somersworth High School in New Hampshire, will serve under newly hired co-principals Mike Bennett and Amanda Suttie. She was approved for the position by the York School Committee at its June 2 meeting.

Liza Mockeridge
Liza Mockeridge

Mockeridge previously worked for five years as an assistant principal in Michigan, according to York School District Superintendent Lou Goscinski. Before that, she was a Michigan high school director of guidance and a guidance counselor for more than 10 years. She began her professional high school career as a long-term special education teacher and department chair. She moved to the Seacoast area in 2021, according to Goscinski.

Previous story: York High School assistant principals nominated to serve as co-principals

Goscinski said the hiring of Mockeridge completes the new leadership team for next year.

Current Principal Karl Francis announced in April that he would be leaving at the end of the school year to become the principal of Greely High School in Cumberland, Maine. Bennett and Suttie were promoted later that month.

“Liza fits in perfectly with co-principals Bennett and Suttie,” Goscinski said. “This new administrative team is poised to reinvigorate a focus on academic excellence for YHS students.”

More: York High School Principal Karl Francis announces departure

Goscinski said the co-principal model is intended to be permanent. He said the model has become more common in recent years. When Francis announced his resignation, Goscinski thought Bennett and Suttie were the right people to collaboratively lead the school moving forward. He said the amount of work it takes to run a school district, especially in recent years, warrants having two administrators at the helm.

“More and more school districts are going for this kind of model,” Goscinski said. “I just looked at the skillset of the folks in the building and thought it would be a good move.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Liza Mockeridge named new assistant principal of York Maine High School