Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa selected to lead Princeton Public Schools

The Princeton Board of Education is slated to approve the appointment of Michael LaSusa as the next permanent superintendent of the school district at a special board meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

LaSusa, the 2019 New Jersey Association of School Administrators superintendent of the year for his region, has served as the head of the Chathams school district for 13 years. The School District of the Chathams is a regional school district serving students in Chatham Borough and Chatham Township.

The Chathams is a high-performing school district. Chatham High School was ranked 21st in New Jersey and first among Morris County Public Schools by U.S. News in 2024.

LaSusa began his career in public education as a middle school Spanish teacher in North Philadelphia.  After being hired to teach Spanish and social studies at Chatham High School in 2001, he held several administrative positions in the Chathams, including serving as a high school principal and the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.  

During his tenure as superintendent in Chatham, he developed a program to support the mental health and well-being of students, implemented a later high school start time, created a mandatory Holocaust and Genocide Studies course at Chatham Middle School alongside the installation of a dedicated collection of Holocaust literary works at Chatham Middle and Chatham High School, expanded special education programming at all levels of schooling, introduced Chinese and American Sign Language in Grades 6-12, and oversaw the district’s investments in new programs and facilities for the arts and athletics.

LaSusa is the immediate past president of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the current president of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. He earned his doctorate in education from Rutgers University, his master’s degree in secondary education from Saint Joseph’s University, and his bachelor’s in Spanish from Gettysburg College. He lives in Morris County with his wife and children.

After the school board formally votes on his appointment, members of the community are welcome to greet LaSusa at the Valley Road Administration Building. Refreshments will be served.

LaSusa informed his current school district community that he would be leaving in an email today. He will stay on as superintendent of the Chathams through June and then begin his new job in Princeton.

Letter from LaSusa to his current school district

Dear School Community,

I am writing to inform you that I have accepted a position as the superintendent of schools in another school district and that I anticipate my appointment to that position taking place as early as this week.  

I have spent the past nearly 24 years learning, building, and growing up in Chatham, and I have considered the SDOC my second home and family during the prime of my life.  This has been a difficult and emotional decision for me.  However, I believe that there are points in time when change can be healthy both for an individual and for an organization, even though it might not feel that way in the moment.  

I know, care for, and admire too many people–staff members, parents, colleagues, current and former students–to call out individually as being impactful to my growth as a person, but I cannot make an announcement like this without specifically mentioning Jill Critchley Weber as a champion of this school district and a fearless, selfless, inspirational colleague and public servant.

I will finish the year in Chatham and ensure that all current initiatives and plans, including the implementation of full-day kindergarten and the grade level reconfiguration, will continue uninterrupted and as planned.  I have supreme confidence in our terrific Board of Education and the leadership of the administrative team here.  The Board has made it clear to me for many years now that part of my responsibility as superintendent is to develop the leadership capacity of people around me so that, when the time comes, the district is well-positioned for a smooth transition and succession.  I have been meeting with members of the Board over the past week and will continue to work with them as they see fit to ensure that the next district leader has everything they need to be successful.  The Board will direct the next steps in the process and communicate them promptly.

I am certain that Chatham is on solid footing and poised to become even better.  

Thank you sincerely and with immense gratitude,

Mike LaSusa