Assistant Superintendent Annie Gonzalez Kosek to leave Princeton Public Schools district in June

Annie Gonzalez Kosek, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Princeton Public Schools district, is retiring at the end of June.

Kosek informed teachers in the district about her departure in an email on Wednesday, saying she made the decision to leave the district in August.

“This may come as a surprise at a most inopportune time, but unfortunately, timing is not within my control right now and there is no longer a good time. Last August, long before we heard anything about COVID-19, I made the decision and informed Steve of my intention to retire at the end of this school year. However, the coronavirus threw a wrench in the timing of my announcement. Doing so remotely was not part of the plan,” Kosek wrote in the email to teachers.

“My decision to retire came after much reflection on what has been a long and rewarding forty-one-year career. It is not because of QSAC, COVID-19, nor Steve’s retirement announcement,” she wrote. “I’ve always loved a good challenge (and we’ve had many this year alone!), welcomed new ways of thinking, and alongside all of you, worked hard every day to achieve the best possible outcomes for the students and families we serve. I will continue to do just that until the very last day of June.”

Kosek has worked in the district for seventeen years and previously was the principal of Littlebrook Elementary School. Both she and Princeton Superintendent of Schools Steve Cochrane will be leaving the district at the same time. Cochrane announced his retirement in February.

“I do hope to continue to work in public or higher education in some capacity. I will, though, also happily take some advice I received recently — scheduling work around vacations is much more fun than scheduling vacations around work,” Kosek wrote in her email to teachers. “I know that the retirement of both the superintendent and an assistant superintendent poses quite a challenge for a district, even without being in the middle of imposed distance teaching and learning.”