Brian O’Connell, currently the assistant principal at Timberlane Regional High School, will replace Dr. John House-Myers as the principal of Bow High School.

The Bow School Board made the hire official during Thursday’s meeting.

O’Connell is in his fifth year at Timberlane, and previously worked for seven years as a math teacher at Oyster River High School. He will begin in his new role on July 1.

O’Connell said he hopes to continue what he termed his “student-centric” approach to administration, despite the differences between Timberlane and Bow.

Timberlane has a population of around 1,200 students, he said, and they come from diverse social and economic backgrounds. The school has four feeder towns, he said, and several students come from across the Massachusetts border because the school is nearby. Bow has about 625 students this year, according to Department of Education figures.

Being student-centric, O’Connell said, means understanding his role is not just as an administrator, but as an educator to students about how to navigate through high school and beyond. As an assistant principal at Timberlane, he said he tries to model good behavior, respect for others and how to handle new and difficult situations.

“As an assistant principal, I work frequently with students, and most think of that as a disciplinary role,” he said. “There’s no doubt it involves that, but I also try to educate them in the soft skills.”

Student-centric also means understanding how the challenges students face in education have changed. O’Connell said the biggest hurdle students face is the need to prepare for education beyond high school.

“It could be anything from a two-year program to a four-year program, from community colleges to an Ivy League,” he said. “It’s all about prepping kids for that wide variety they’re going to have beyond high school.”

O’Connell was born and raised in Keene, and graduated from the University of New Hampshire. He and his wife, who works in Bedford, currently live in Windham.

(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)

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