by Lindsay Mosberg
In a special session on Friday, May 27, the Irvington Board of Education will appoint Mr. Jon Hirsch as the new principal for Irvington High School.
Mr. Hirsch served as principal for Valhalla High School for three years and was the assistant principal at Ardsley High School for four years prior to that.
In a email to the community on Wednesday, Superintendent Dr. Kris Harrison announced that they had selected Mr. Hirsch after “an extremely comprehensive and highly competitive search process.”
“He is a seasoned principal with deep experience in Westchester County that has prepared him well to guide IHS to continued success while helping our students to achieve their fullest potential,” he wrote in the email.
The email also details Mr. Hirsch’s history as a curricular leader and innovator.
“His philosophy is one that is an ideal match for our community – one that asserts that schools must focus on two primary areas: rigor and joy.”
Before he was the Ardsley assistant principal, Mr. Hirsch worked at Chappaqua’s Horace Greely High School for 18 years starting in 1998. He was initially hired as a special education teacher and also taught social studies.
His tenure at Chappaqua included his involvement in the launch of an alternative school in 2001 – the LIFE School – where he became the school’s director in 2004. In 2015, the LIFE School was named one of the best alternative high school programs in the county by Westchester Magazine.
After Ms. Juliet Gevargis-Mizimakoski announced her resignation on April 1, the principal search for the Irvington High School for the 2022-2023 school year began. The process began with around 40 applicants, and the hiring committee whittled it down to two before Mr. Hirsch was offered the job.
