Dr. Mooney leaves Blake for new role in MCPS

Administrator Dr. Mooney has left James Hubert Blake High School to become the Coordinator of Labor Relations for Montgomery County Public Schools. As he begins his new role, Blake’s administration is working to find his replacement while dividing his responsibilities among the administrative team.

Dr. Mooney served as Blakes’s 10th-grade administrator, building relationships with students and staff. Mr. Adelekan disclosed that Dr. Mooney’s departure was difficult because he had started making connections with students during the school year. 

As a former high school principal, Dr. Mooney was critical in guiding Mr. Adelekan through his first year.  “I felt a little sad because he had started to build connections with, you know, a lot of kids in his grade level,” Adelekan said. 

Although he was sad to see Dr. Mooney leave, Adelekan explained he was happy for him as he took on a new role. Before joining Blake, Dr. Mooney served as a principal at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and brought valuable experience to the administrative team. 

Adelekan stated Dr. Mooney made important contributions to teaching and learning at Blake, particularly through his knowledge of instruction and data analysis.  “Dr. Mooney has had a significant impact from a teaching and learning standpoint,” Adelekan said. “Dr. Mooney was, you know, one of our instructional leaders.”

Adelekan also mentioned Dr. Mooney’s experience helped him transition into his own role as a high school principal.  “I think that helped me transition to high school better, having, like a veteran to support,” He said. 

The school has posted the assistant principal position and is working with MCPS Human Resources Department to interview candidates. Until a replacement is hired, the administrative team is sharing Dr. Mooney’s responsibilities.

 “We kind of just step up and everybody picks up extra responsibilities,” Adelekan stated.

Adelekan expressed he expects few immediate changes for staff and students while the school searches for a replacement. Depending on the new administrator’s strengths, some responsibilities may be rearranged but the school plans to maintain consistency.

Dr. Mooney is leaving Blake to take on a new challenge. In his new role, he will work with MCPS and Employee Associations on contract negotiations, disputes and grievances.

“This is an opportunity to take the skills that I’ve learned over all that time and apply them in a different way,” Dr. Mooney noted 

As he leaves Blake, Dr. Mooney hopes the community remembers the importance of kindness in its relationships.

“And I hope that people leave with that from me, that I treated them with kindness,” He mentioned.

He also encouraged students to not put pressure on themselves to make every decision perfectly.  “If you make mistakes the most important thing is that you learned from them,” expressed Dr. Mooney. 

Beyond his work as an administrator, Dr. Mooney was also known for his dad jokes, Mr. Adelekan recalled Dr. Mooney often included a joke at the end of his emails, describing them as, “Kind of corny, but a little funny.” 

During his interview Dr. Mooney shared one final joke:

“What happens when rainbows break the law? They go to prism, but don’t worry it’s a light sentence.” 

As Blake moves forward, Adelekan shared that the school’s priority is to hire an assistant principal who can support 10th grade students and meet the needs of the wider school community.