Irizarry named as new CHS principal

Charlottesville City Schools announced Wednesday that the division has hired Eric Irizarry to replace Jill Dahl as principal of Charlottesville High School.

Irizarry holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, according to a city schools news release.

Irizarry currently serves as principal of D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy, a public middle school in Wilmington, North Carolina. Virgo is aimed at working with underserved students and focuses on alternate education, according to Wilmington news outlets.

Students at D.C. Virgo spend one day a week learning from artists-in-residence and local businesses as opposed to traditional classroom lectures, according to the Wilmington Star-News.

Irizarry has served at D.C. Virgo since it reopened in 2012. He was previously the principal of the middle school at Roger Bacon Academy, a public charter school in Leland, North Carolina.

According to the division news release, Irizarry began his career as a teacher in the New Hanover County, North Carolina, school division. He also has served in various positions at his alma mater and on community boards and commissions, the release said.

Irizarry was the consensus choice from a strong applicant pool for the position, Charlottesville schools Superintendent Rosa Atkins said in a news release.

“We are delighted that Dr. Irizarry is coming to Charlottesville High School,” Atkins said in the release. “We were blessed with a difficult choice for the position since the applicant pool was so strong. Even so, a consensus emerged among our stakeholders that Dr. Irizarry should be the school’s next leader.”

Current CHS Principal Jill Dahl announced in April that she will leave the division in June for an administrative position in the Fluvanna County school division.

Irizarry did not return a request for comment by press time.