For the 2024-25 school year, Hingham High School has welcomed Dr. John Buckey as the interim principal. Dr. Buckey has over twenty-five years experience in education, including as a Spanish teacher, principal, and superintendent. Prior to Hingham, he was most recently the superintendent of Marblehead Public Schools and the principal of Nantucket High School for twelve years, where he was named Massachusetts Principal of the Year in 2013. 

Although Dr. Buckey has only been in Hingham for about two months, he has quickly noticed what makes HHS so special. “The students, by far, have been my favorite part of HHS,” he explains. “They are warm, welcoming, articulate, accomplished and kind. I have never seen so many students proactively come up to introduce themselves to the principal.”

In his July 2nd email where he introduced himself to Hingham students and families, he shared that he would make it his mission to be “out and in classrooms, in the cafeteria and around campus for games, performances, activities and events.” So far, Dr. Buckey has delivered on this promise, as he helped welcome the HHS Football team onto the field for their first Friday Night Lights game on September 6th prior to their 42-6 victory against Merrimack.

Dr. Buckey also attended the 2nd annual HHS Music Community Kick-Off Celebration for all HHS band, chorus and orchestra students during which he met many of HHS’s talented student musicians. The event featured food, lawn games and kickball on the HHS fields and served as an excellent opportunity for Dr. Buckey to engage with students and members of the HMPA (Hingham Music Parents Association) who sponsored the event. Junior Gavin Anderson felt it “was really meaningful to have Dr. Buckey attend our first music event of the year.” 

Sophomore Breanna Weiss believes that Dr. Buckey “seems like a great principal and a very considerate person.” She adds that his greeting of students every morning, “proves his care and shows a true effort to keep in touch with the entire school community.”

Dr. Buckey plans to send an email out each Monday titled “The Monday Message,” which will include “Buckey Banter”, where he will share his personal thoughts, photos, updates, acknowledgements, and information about upcoming events at HHS. 

One such new initiative at HHS that Dr. Buckey is working on is a “Portrait of a Learner” which will begin soon with surveys and student focus groups.  According to Dr. Buckey, the initiative’s goal is to “articulate the skills and abilities we want all graduates of HHS to have and embody.”  

Finally, some fun facts about Dr. Buckey: He commutes from Marblehead everyday but is looking for a rental around Hingham. As a former Spanish teacher, he took student trips to Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, France, England and Italy.  He was a national qualifier for swimming in college, and now officiates swimming and diving. He welcomes any South Shore area dining recommendations since he is a foodie, but does not love to cook. And, he has a Chocolate Lab rescue from Mississippi named Rocky, named as part of a district-wide student contest in Marblehead. 

Ever curious and striving to improve the HHS community, Dr. Buckey has invited all in his welcome message to stop by and say hello and “share with me your ideas, perspectives and aspirations.”