Watson takes job at Granville Charter High School
Lea Kahn
Lawrence High School Principal Anthony Watson is retiring from the top administrative job at the high school at the end of June, bringing to a close a 17-year career at the school.
Mr. Watson, who expects to assume the vice-presidency of Trenton’s Granville Charter High School, has been principal of Lawrence High School since 1992. He began his 25-year career as a business teacher at Allentown High School, and worked his way up to the assistant principal’s job. In 1983, he was hired to be the assistant principal at Lawrence High School.
His new post at the Granville Charter High School is equivalent to the principal’s post at Lawrence High School. The Granville Charter High School will be located in Trenton when it opens in September. The Granville Charter middle and elementary schools are already open.
“It’s just a change. I have been an educator for 25 years — 17 of them in Lawrence. The opportunity for me to make a difference will be put to the test, working in an urban school setting,” Mr. Watson said.
“Bill Granville (founder of the Granville Charter Schools) is a personal friend of mine. He wants to help urban students. I indicated that I would try to help the students in urban communities. I will use my expertise and experience that I gained in Lawrence and maybe do some positive things,” he said.
Mr. Watson actually will be employed by the Edison Schools of New York. It is a for-profit educational management consulting firm that works with charter schools and independent schools nationwide to provide alternative options to public schools, he said. Edison is under contract to manage the Granville Charter Schools.
Mr. Watson said he accepted the Granville Charter High School post as a challenge. The students in Lawrence live in a relatively stable and supportive environment — something that students in an urban environment may lack, he said.
“If I can provide that to those students, I will look forward to it. To serve as a role model or a mentor, I’ll feel some values to that (experience). It will be a challenge, but it will be fun,” he said.
The principal said he has enjoyed working with Lawrence students and getting to know them through their school activities. He said he also enjoyed working with a high school staff that, he said, always has had the students’ best interests at heart.
Since his retirement plans were announced Tuesday, he said he has received telephone calls from the parents of former students wishing him well. He added that he will miss the caring, supportive community that is Lawrence.