When Badin High Social Studies teacher Josh Mears was singing with the guitar group at Queen of Peace parish a few years ago, he had no idea what the future held.

Mears has been named the principal at Queen of Peace School in Millville effective July 1. He will replace Tina Conners, who is retiring.

“I’m really, really excited,” Mears said. “It’s a great community and a great school. The people out there do some really good things. I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Mears, 40, has been a part of the Badin faculty for 16 years following his undergraduate work at the University of Tennessee. He has a master’s degree from Wright State and a principal’s certificate from Xavier University. He’s a graduate of Alter High School in Kettering, where as a track athlete he won back-to-back Ohio state titles in the 800-meter run.

Mears has recently been a part of the Aspiring Catholic Schools Leaders program through the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He said his interest in administration had been piqued by being the faculty representative on Badin’s school board.

“I got to see behind the curtain; to see the nuts and bolts of how a school is run,” he said. “That got me interested. … Then through the ACSL program, we have gone into a different school each month to see some of the things they do well. That made me even more excited about the idea of leading a school.”

“I have a lot of confidence that Josh will do a tremendous job at Queen of Peace,” Badin Principal Brian Pendergest said. “We’ve talked a lot through the process and I think he’s a perfect fit there.”

Mears said that he didn’t plan to leave Badin for “just any opportunity.”

“The people here at Badin – the students, the co-workers – all of them are really the reason I’m in this position. They helped prepare me for the challenge of being a school leader.

“I’ve had the benefit of being in a supportive environment for 16 years. It’s never an easy decision to leave. I’m sad about that, honestly. This is not at all about feeling pushed out of Badin, but rather feeling pulled to the great opportunity at Queen of Peace.”

“We hate to lose Josh in the classroom – he’s going to be hard to replace,” Pendergest said. “You see what a great job he does by how crowded his classes are. But at this point in his professional development, it’s a great move … and I’m extremely excited for him.”

Asked for his thoughts on QP, Mears said, “My approach right now will be to do a lot of listening. There are people who have been there for a long time who have a great deal of institutional knowledge, and I can take advantage of that.”

Mears currently teaches AP American Government at Badin as well as Psychology. He previously taught U.S. History and Geography among other classes over his career. He has also directed the Scholar Leader Academy for top academic students. He and his wife, Megan, live in Colerain Township and are the parents of one daughter.