New Inter-Lakes principal feels like he's 'coming home'

MEREDITH — Inter-Lakes Middle High School is under new leadership. Principal Guy Donnelly is a familiar face as the football coach, and he and his family have been town residents for decades.

“I really feel like I’m coming home,” said Donnelly, who was hired in January, and started the new position July 1. “I have lived, in Meredith, now, for 21 years. My older son just finished his freshman year at Bentley [University], and went to Inter-Lakes, and my younger son is going to be a junior here. My wife owns Meredith Landing Real Estate, and was born and raised in Meredith.”

Donnelly gave an interview during the morning of his first day on the job, saying he had feelings of both nerves and excitement. These first couple weeks are when he’ll hire support staff, but fortunately, the school is mostly staffed. He’ll be getting to know the systems at the school, work on approving purchase orders, and understand how professional development works at Inter-Lakes.

“This is time where I can get comfortable with the school, and then staff will start trickling in,” Donnelly said. “We start summer school in a couple weeks, so it’ll be nice to have some kids in the building. In July, I’ll get acquainted to the school and its systems, and in August, we hit the ground with planning the opening of the school.”

The school year doesn’t start for another month-and-a-half, but he already anticipates the feelings he'll have when that first bell rings.

“Nervous excitement, like I have every year,” he said. “That night before the first day of school is exciting, nervous, and tough to sleep. I’ll keep a notebook next to my bed, so I can write down my thoughts when I wake up in the middle of the night.”

An experienced educator

Donnelly grew up in Wakefield, on the other side of Lake Winnipesaukee, and graduated from Spaulding High School, in Rochester, before heading to Keene State University. Donnelly played baseball at Keene, and said sports have always been big for him, leading to his first job at Kingswood Regional High School, in Wolfeboro, as athletic director.

“I was at Kingswood for 28 years, in different roles,” Donnelly said.

From 2008 to 2023, he was the principal at Kingswood High, and before that, he was assistant principal from 2003 to 2008, and dean of students from 1998 to 2003.

Donnelly was principal at Ashland Elementary School for the last three years, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade, two towns over.

“And my commute has gotten closer with each job,” Donnelly said. “It was 17 minutes from my door, and now it’s about a mile-and-a-half.”

Ashland Elementary is in the same school administrative unit, making for a unique and easy transition. After he was hired in January, for the new role at Inter-Lakes, he was able to work with outgoing Principal Amanda Downing in preparation for this school year.

“I’ve known Amanda as my son’s principal, and she was very helpful through the transition process,” Donnelly said. “We worked well together in that sense, and I wish her the best as she is starting up in Rumney, as their new principal.”

Donnelly said this was a unique situation, as he was able to participate in hiring for the fall at Inter-Lakes.

“Learning their systems, how they do things and their processes, Amanda was very helpful with that,” Donnelly said. “I was able to work with the new principal in Ashland, too, Carrie Sanborn, because she signed on right after me,” Donnelly said. “And she is great.”

Donnelly said Downing and the staff were extremely busy with the accreditation process before his arrival, and there are some things they will continue to work on, as every school needs to. He also said the school board has been heavily involved with formulating the strategic plan, and this will be a primary focus.

The task at hand

First, Donnelly wants to really get to know his staff. As a parent, he said he comes into the school knowing the staff, but as an administrator, he looks at things a little differently.

He plans to get a good understanding of how the school district runs, and has meetings with the leadership team over the summer months. His goal in the first year is to learn the system and understand the needs of the students.

“I think coming in as a new principal, you need to figure out why they do things,” Donnelly said. “I think sometimes you don’t want to come in and make wholesale changes, without understanding why they do things they do.”

A major recent initiative of the school district is the unveiling of the Portrait of a Graduate, which was introduced publicly in April, at the first of their three annual community meetings designed to help finalize the school’s strategic plan. He thinks Portrait of a Graduate is “extremely important” for students at Inter-Lakes, so they have clear-cut expectations as they move through the district.

“Prepare our students for the world, as it’s ever-changing,” Donnelly said. “I’ve heard people say that the jobs that kindergartners and first graders have don’t exist at this time, so you obviously want to plan, move forward and prepare your students to be the best they can in the opportunities that they have when they leave here.”

Inter-Lakes Middle High School, he said, has so many opportunities he's seen from a parent perspective, and they have “big school offerings with a small school enrollment.”

With his last three years of experience in Ashland, he now has worked as a principal for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. This has allowed him to see the whole picture.

“You see the kids starting in kindergarten, the nervous excitement of their parents dropping off their babies at school, to seniors walking out the door with their diplomas,” Donnelly said. “You know, it takes a whole community to support our students, from kindergarten through 12th grade. Learning from my experience at the high school, these jobs can be difficult for school administrators and school employees. It is important that we just breathe.”

He said educators are all in it for the right reasons, and “kids are kids.” One thing he can take away is no matter the age of the student, they need support. He stressed the importance of being involved with a child’s education.

“I think as kids get [older], parents tend to take a step back,” Donnelly said. “I think they need it, more than ever, at the middle and high school level.”

Donnelly said the challenges he sees include a changing world. He said it's important to take the time to be kind, and a lot can be accomplished by working together.

“That kindness is really important, because the world can be an unkind place,” Donnelly said. “When kids walk through our doors in the morning, they will be treated kindly, and with respect, until they leave the building. That is something I’ve prided myself as an administrator, building a good culture for our students.”

Donnelly said it's important to build this same culture for staff, and make sure they all feel heard and supported.

Donnelly has been through the building, met with student council, and knows many of the students through the community. He said knowing three quarters of the students in the building already makes the transition a little easier. Some are players he's coached, others are friends with his children, and some he has met by being a member of the community.

Donnelly said the best part of his day truly is walking in and seeing the students. This is especially meaningful to him now, as these are students he's known for years.

“I am working in a community that is my community, and that is probably the thing that excites me the most,” Donnelly said. “I have such a vested interest in this school district, because it is our school district. It is my family’s school district. I want to make sure I do a good job and be 100% invested — not that I wasn’t in other communities, of course — but this has a special meaning to me.”

Words from an outgoing principal

Downing wrapped up her fifth year as principal at Inter-Lakes Middle High School, and is now principal at Russell Elementary School in Rumney. She said this is only a few miles from her house, and the new job will allow her to have more time with her family, which includes young children attending nearby Campton Elementary School.

Downing has more than 20 years of experience, starting as a health and physical education teacher, and working up the ladder. After five years of leading middle and high school-aged students, she is looking forward to a kindergarten through eighth grade environment.

She just watched graduates receive their diplomas, and said she is proud of what she accomplished at Inter-Lakes, with what she called a “special group of students.”

“There is a lot going on in the district right now, but from a perspective of leadership here at the middle high school, it’s been a positive five years,” Downing said.