The former principal of a Hill District school has been named headmaster of Boston's venerable -- but troubled -- English High School.

Sito Narcisse begins work today at what's billed as "America's oldest public high school." Its Web site says the school, founded in 1821, has more than 1,200 students from several countries.

A Boston Public Schools spokesman confirmed Dr. Narcisse's appointment.

Facing possible closure by the state, English High School has poor test scores, a low graduation rate and a faculty divided over whether a new headmaster is needed, The Boston Globe reported. The school is a special turnaround program authorized by the state, the newspaper said.

It's a big step for Dr. Narcisse, who two school years ago was an assistant principal in the Woodland Hills School District.

He joined the Pittsburgh Public Schools in May 2008, helped plan the opening of the district's university partnership school and oversaw its first school year.

The school, a cornerstone of the district's efforts to reinvigorate secondary education, debuted in the Milliones building with about 130 ninth-graders. It has a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Education and is designed to grow into a school for grades six through 12.

In April, Dr. Narcisse announced that he was resigning at the end of the school year because his wife had taken a residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Narcisse couldn't be reached yesterday for comment. He told The Globe that Boston is a city where he and his wife would like to put down roots.

English High School's partnerships with Boston University and community groups are an important aspect of its turnaround plan, the paper said, noting Dr. Narcisse's doctoral dissertation was on community partnerships.