District administrators announced Peter Mayes will soon replace outgoing Nitschmann MS Principal Jacqueline Santanasto at their March 18 public meeting. He will begin at the end of the current school calendar year July 1.

Mayes, originally from Allentown, he is a graduate of Bloomsburg, Wilkes and Kutztown universities and is pursuing his doctorate in educational leadership at East Stroudsburg University.

Mayes moved to Bethlehem in 1997 and taught in the district at James Buchanan ES and Nitschmann until 2006. He then served as a teacher and administrator in the Allentown School District.

Mayes said in an email, "After serving as a teacher in Bethlehem and an administrator in Allentown, it has been a desire of mine to return to serve our community as an administrator in the neighborhood where our family lives. Our family loves living in West Bethlehem and it is a great opportunity to serve here."

He said a major challenge he seeks to meet is providing quality education with increased constriction of resources, and he said Bethlehem is graced with the excellent community to help him do so.

Mayes said Nitschmann itself is an anchor in the neighborhood and it should reflect its importance in the community. "The building infrastructure is antiquated and is overdue for an appropriate reconstruction. As a former teacher, I can identify with the challenges that the students and staff encounter daily in a building that has outlasted its lifetime. I feel that it is time for Nitschmann's building to match our dynamic students, while keeping in mind the delicate fiscal position of public education in today's world," Mayes said.

"I hope that our community can invest in Nitschmann to provide an appropriate and long-lasting building for the children of Bethlehem."

In conclusion, he said, "I would just like to share my excitement to join the Nitschmann Middle School community and thanks to the School Board and Administration to have the opportunity to serve our school."