The leader of the Windham and Raymond school district has been named the 2022 Superintendent of the Year, the Maine Department of Education announced this week.

Christopher Howell, who heads Regional School Unit 14, was described as someone who leads “with the highest level of integrity, educational vision, and organizational understanding,” according to a press release from the department and the Maine School Superintendent’s Association.

In recent years, he has led the work to design a new middle school and worked on issues of social emotional learning, equity and social justice. Howell holds a bachelor of arts degree in biology from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree in teaching and learning.

He and his wife Nicole have three sons, Caleb, Aaron and Nate.