Update: Davis Resigns From Milford High School Principal Job

MILFORD, NH — Milford's high school principal has resigned.

Chali Davis, who was hired in July 2019, has decided to leave, effective June 30, after "careful consideration and reflection," she said, in a letter to the community.

"I leave with a grateful heart," she said. "These past two years have been challenging for the MHS community, and alongside each other, we have sought to meet the many changes with courage, grit, humor, and determination. Students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators have come together in the midst of crisis and have done the very best they could. I am proud to have served this community, and I value the connections we have made."

The decision comes just days after Christi Michaud, the assistant superintendent of schools for SAU 40, took over as interim superintendent as Jessica Huizenga begins to leave. She resigned from the superintendent's position in December 2020.

Michaud, Davis said, "has served this district from a foundation of communication, kindness, and supported change, and I know this will continue as you move forward." She added that she hoped "conversations around teaching and learning — ones that began before I came and ones that happened while I was here — continue to guide the district toward excellence."

Davis said on Tuesday that in two years, she was able to accomplish a number of things prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Davis was able to organize the high school into action teams to meet the district's strategic plan and also implemented professional learning communities and began reviewing student achievement data. Emphasizing social-emotional learning strategies, within the classroom, was also a priority, she noted.

Alene Candles, which has a satellite office in Milford, named Davis one of four community leaders, "Milford Luminaries," in late 2020, for her work navigating the school during the pandemic. SHARE Outreach, an emergency support org in Milford that assists the community, and surrounding towns, with food, clothing, and assistance, received a $1,000 donation from the company as part of the honor.

Davis said she also believed in "ensuring every child receives a high-quality education is a vital action we can take to bring about equity in our society."

Huizenga, in a letter to the district, commended Davis for her leadership during the past two years, especially as a team member and guiding the school through difficult times.

"During this unprecedented pandemic, when the district transitioned from a regular model of education, into remote, into hybrid, back to remote, and then to full in person, she has led her team with strength and adaptability," she said. "In a very short amount of time, she gracefully tackled some significant and important items that have long needed attention, positioning MHS to move forward into the future."

A few months after being hired, during a presentation to students about striving to achieve one's goals, Davis was accused of saying that even Adolph Hitler had goals although they were evil in nature.

Jaime Morgan, George Hoyt, parents, and others raised alarms about what they heard from their children concerning the presentation and requested a copy but the request was rejected. Davis, according to an email, offered to sit down with anyone to talk about the presentation but refused to comply with the request.

A 91-A right-to-know request was made for the presentation with the district and school board rejecting it, saying the presentation was "not a government record" so there were "no governmental records responsive to the request" — a bizarre claim since schools are governmental organizations and any documents created by employees in a lesson plan or presentation would be a governmental document.

After a second request was made, Ronald Carvell, the chairman of the school board, rejected the request again — but said Davis was available to review the presentation with anyone concerned about it in person, according to emails received by Patch in October 2019.

Davis was an assistant principal in Concord for three years before coming to Milford where she led the English, Reading, and English Language Learners departments. During her time in Concord, she was named in a civil lawsuit after a high school student from Deerfield, who attended classes in Concord, was sexually assaulted on a school bus in 2017 and her parents accused principals and administrators of refusing to act. A lawsuit was filed on the girl's behalf in U.S. District Court in April 2018 against Davis as well as the SAU 8 school district, Terri Forsten, the school superintendent at the time, former principal, Tom Sica, and two assistant principals still working at Concord High School, James Corkum and Tom Crumrine. An attorney for the parents and the district have been attempting to mediate the case but according to paperwork filed last month, it has proven fruitless.

A jury trial was scheduled for June 8, but Sica has requested a delay in the case to allow his new attorney time for discovery. Forsten and Sica retained separate counsel for the case. A judge approved the extension so the trial has been pushed back to Jan. 4, 2022.

Davis was an English and humanities teacher for close to four years at Windham High School. Before that, she taught at Pinkerton Academy and in Lawrence, Massachusetts, during the mid-1990s.

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