Norwich — An elementary school principal seen as a rising star in the city public school system will leave Norwich to become principal of Windham High School.

Jason Foster, who has led the Uncas School through its successful application to join the state Department of Education's Commissioner's Network, through major building renovations and also forged ties with the Mohegan Tribe and Norwich Historical Society, will depart at the end of June for his new position.

“It was really tough,” Foster said of his decision to move to Windham High School. “I love my school. It has the best backyard in the whole city.”

Foster took the helm at Uncas after serving as assistant principal at Teachers Memorial School — now the sixth-grade academy.

Even before being appointed Uncas principal, he served on a committee to write the Network School application and turnaround plan accepted by the state that brought both program and staffing money and state capital improvement grants to the school.

Uncas, located off Elizabeth Street, serves many low-income families on the West Side, including in nearby public housing complexes.

The school was transformed from the 1960s-era so-called “open classroom” structure with vast open spaces on each floor into a more traditional classroom setting with walls and divided rooms.

While teachers praised those changes, Foster stressed the relationships he forged at the school as its best attributes.

He developed close ties with parents and families of students and made the school a neighborhood gathering place.

He also strengthened the long-standing ties the school maintains with the Mohegan tribe to honor 17th-century Mohegan Sachem Uncas.

Each year, Mohegan tribal leaders come for a dedication ceremony at the school that draws a packed-lobby audience, Foster said.

“The annual ceremony with the Mohegans just transforms the lobby,” Foster said. “It's like it's a sacred space.”

That relationship helped launch Foster's next idea — to form partnerships with the Norwich Historical Society and the Leffingwell House Museum to convert Uncas School into a “culture and creative studies” magnet school.

Foster said it would stress history, ethnic and cultural relations and explore why and how cities and towns and their iconic mills developed over the centuries, immigrant populations were drawn to the region and the relations with Native American tribes.

School officials submitted an application to LEARN, the regional education agency, seeking $350,000 per year for three years in federal magnet school funding.

LEARN is preparing an application for several schools in the region interested in becoming magnet schools, Norwich Superintendent Abby Dolliver said.

The Moriarty Environmental Sciences and the Wequonnoc Arts and Technology magnet schools in Norwich obtained federal funding through LEARN applications.

Foster said he plans to bring similar ideas to Windham High School, seeking ties with both Eastern Connecticut State University — “literally across the street,” he said — and with the nearby University of Connecticut.

He also plans to visit the Windham Historical Society for a possible partnership.

Dolliver praised Foster's enthusiasm, dedication and innovative ideas for “cementing” the Network School programs at Uncas and for reaching out to families in the neighborhood school.

“He's had many good ideas and is such a strong student and family advocate,” Dolliver said. “I do wish him well at his new endeavor.”

Dolliver said she posted the position internally and will interview several internal and external candidates on June 27.

She hopes to select a new Uncas School principal by July 1 to allow the person to gear up over the summer for the next school year.

c.bessette@theday.com