As the school year winds to a close, Upper Darby School District is welcoming a new high school principal and a new district director of public safety.
Dr. Craig Parkinson, the former superintendent of Chester Upland School District, is taking over at the high school, while 26-year Upper Darby Police Department veteran Anthony Vaughn is the new director of public safety.
The current principal, Dr. Matt Alloway, has taken over as supervisor of special education in the district’s central administration.
Parkinson was at Chester Upland for two years, and before that, principal of Phoenixville Area High School for 11 years.
At Chester Upland, Parkinson focused on increasing career and technical education opportunities for all students through establishing relationships with various community organizations. Additionally, there was an increase in academic performance under his leadership and guidance throughout the entire district.
He left Chester in September.
At that time, Chester Upland Receiver, Nafis Nichols said that under Parkinson’s leadership, the district was closer to getting out of state oversight and thanked him for his service.
Parkinson is a recipient of the 2020 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.
He completed his doctoral dissertation at Immaculata University in 2011 on culturally responsive teaching, mentoring, pedagogy and practice. He holds a master’s in education from West Chester University and an undergraduate degree in social work from Millersville University.
At Phoenixville High, Parkinson developed a program to provide academically talented and economically disadvantaged students with college preparation strategies. He developed an academic enrichment program to focus on students with academic challenges and helped to increase the number of Advanced Placement offerings at the school as well as the number of students who could access those courses.
Parkinson also served as assistant principal at the Center for Alternative Secondary Education in Coatesville for three years where he was a Dean of Students and Emotional Support Teacher. He’s also worked in several special education settings, providing crisis intervention, and emotional and academic support.
Parkinson is a member of the National Association of Black School Educators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, a public service fraternity.
Anthony Vaughn the new Director of Public Safety for Upper Darby School District. (COURTESY PHOTO)
After Vaughn graduated from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in 1998, he started his career as a patrolman before being promoted to street sergeant in 2005, a role he served in for over 12 years.
In January 2017, he joined the Administration Division as the safe schools coordinator, conducting all lockdown drills inside the township.
With his promotion to lieutenant in 2019, he was assigned to Training and Professional Standards and in 2021 he was promoted to captain and assigned to the Patrol Division.
Upper Darby School District Public Safety. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)
He finished his career as commanding officer of Training and Professional Standards.
In 2018, Vaughn was recognized by the Delaware County Council and the Holcombe Group for outstanding work in opioid prevention and education.
In 2019, he received the Marine Corps Officer of the Year award.
Vaughn is committed to increasing the quality of public safety for all staff and students with honor and integrity, the district said.