Mark Ito, currently chair of the Wellesley Middle School English Department, has been named as the school’s new principal.

Ito is an 8-year veteran of WMS.

“It became abundantly clear through the process that Mark has earned the deep respect of the school community for his intelligence, thoughtfulness, and leadership as a teacher and administrator. This is an exciting appointment for him and for Wellesley Middle School!” according to outgoing Superintendent Bella Wong, who said she worked with incoming Superintendent David Lussier in making the choice.

Interim principal Jamie Chisum presumably will head back to Wellesley High School, where he had been an assistant principal. Earlier this year, he was in the running for headmaster at Brookline High, but decided to withdraw from that race.