WILSON BOROUGH, Pa. — Wilson Area School Board expects to vote Monday on appointing Liberty High School Principal Harrison Bailey III as the district's new superintendent.
The vote is scheduled for the board's meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., according to the board's agenda.
If confirmed, Bailey will fill the vacancy left when former superintendent Douglas Wagner retired at the end of July.Wilson Area School Board minutes
If confirmed, Bailey — the 2021 Pennsylvania Secondary Principal of the Year — will fill the vacancy left when former superintendent Douglas Wagner retired at the end of July.
For the first half of the 2024-25 school year, Wilson Area High School Principal John Martuscelli has served as the district’s acting superintendent.
A resident of Williams Township, Bailey holds degrees from Lafayette College and Lehigh University, and earned his doctorate degree in education leadership from East Stroudsburg University.
He has been Liberty High principal since 2012, after more than a decade as an assistant principal at Parkland High School.
Before becoming an administrator, he taught at Freedom High in Bethlehem.
Liberty High wellness center
Bailey’s tenure at Liberty has been largely defined by his push, starting in 2017, to implement trauma-informed education — a set of practices that recognize that family dysfunction, mental health issues, abuse, exposure to violence or other challenges can follow students to class.
The initiative aims to reshape the school environment to be safe and supportive for students who have experienced trauma, in turn helping them learn.
As part of the initiative, Bailey opened a wellness center at Liberty, where social workers and mental health professionals offer support for students.
It's still among the few school-based centers like it in the state.
His efforts took on greater importance amid the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, as students across the country grappled with the disruption and school administrators looked for ways to help them.
In 2021, the Pennsylvania Principals Association named Bailey the Secondary Principal of the Year, in large part because of his efforts to improve student mental health and make schoolwork better for students who have experienced trauma.
Before Bailey can become Wilson Area School District’s next superintendent, a majority of the district’s school board must vote to approve his appointment.
Athletic achievement
A native of Lakewood, N.J., Bailey was a two-sport star at Lafayette College, playing on the football and track and field teams.
The 1995 Lafayette College graduate was an All-Patriot League defensive end and was inducted into the Leopards' Hall of Fame in 2022.
He also distinguished himself as a Highland Games world champion, competing regularly at Celtic Classic in Bethlehem and on the international Highland Games circuit.
