Four New Principals Will Be Hired This Year in West Hartford

The search for new principals at four West Hartford schools is continuing, and announcements should soon be forthcoming for several of the positions.

A combination of factors has led to a large number of vacancies throughout the district, with interim administrators currently in place in principal and assistant principal roles.

"It's been a long time since this has happened," said Executive Director of Employee Services Rick Ledwith. "Typically it's much more staggered," he said.

The most recent opening is at Braeburn Elementary School, where long-time Principal Natalie Simpson announced on Feb. 25 that she would retire at the end of June.

"I’ve had the privilege of working closely with her throughout her career in our school district. She was a teacher at Norfeldt when I was the principal there and went on to become our curriculum specialist at Smith and succeeded me as Smith principal before moving to Braeburn. I have tremendous admiration for her passion, intellect, and diligence in every role she’s had. I will miss her informed, thoughtful, tenacious, and caring approach to school leadership. Children come first for Mrs. Simpson with high standards permeating all she touches. Mrs. Simpson is the model life-long learner," Superintendent Dr. Karen List wrote in a letter to the Braeburn community announcing Simpson's retirement.

The Braeburn position was posted on March 7.

At both Duffy and Hall, the process of hiring a new principal has been well underway for several months. Leadership profiles for each school, defining the leadership qualities, characteristics, and traits that the school communities' desire in the next principal, were developed during December and January.

At Duffy, the position was posted from January through early February, and 57 applications were received, Ledwith said. The first round of interviews was conducted by a committee chaired by Wolcott Elementary School Principal Dr. Plato Karafelis, and including staff members Marilyn Holcomb, Sheila Levanti, Hannah Shapiro, Elona Judd, and parents Jennifer Majewski (PTO president) and Amy Boultbee Mackinnon (PTO first vice-president).

Following selection of finalists, the applicants' current school district is visited "to ensure we find the right person for this critical leadership position." Ledwith said that an announcement should be forthcoming within the next few weeks. The contract for the new principal will begin effective July 1.

Current Duffy Principal Kathleen Tracy announced in late July 2012 that she would resign as principal at the end of the 2012-2013 school year. A group of current and former parents at Duffy presented the Board of Education with a petition expressing a vote of no confidence in her leadership earlier in the summer.

Former Conard Principal Chuck Landroche has been working alongside Tracy at Duffy since the fall. Tracy plans to remain with the West Hartford Public Schools in some capacity following her departure from Duffy.

The hiring of a new principal at Hall High School is proceeding along a similar track. That position was open through mid-February, with 39 qualified applicants responding.

The interview committee at Hall is being chaired by Conard High School Principal Dr. Peter Cummings. Administrators Donna Namnoum and Steve Armstrong; teachers Tom Devine, Carol Blejwas, and Lauren Drazen; staff member Chris Bartolotta; parents Erica Bloch and Donna Dobbins; and student representative Kendall Teare also serve on the committee.

In a letter sent to the Hall community on March 4, Ledwith indicated that the first round of interviews was scheduled to begin, with the process of selecting a finalist taking several weeks. "If everything goes as scheduled we hope to conclude the process with an announcement to the Board of Education and the Hall community within three to four weeks" Ledwith wrote in the letter.

The vacancy in Hall's top position was created when Dr. Donald Slater resigned in September to take a job as Chief Operating Officer for Hartford's schools. Tom Einhorn has been serving as interim principal.

Applications for the job of principal at Whiting Lane Elementary School closed Monday, Ledwith said. Because the elementary schools are in the middle of CMTs, the interview process will take place beginning the third week of March, he said.

Karen Kukish, a former assistant principal at King Philip Middle School, has been serving in an interim role.

, was named interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment in September when Dr. Eileen Howley announced that she would be taking a position as Executive Director of LEARN, the regional educational service center (RESC) in the southeast corner of the state. DePalma was officially named to the position in January.

Although the jobs are open to all qualified applicants, Ledwith said he expects internal candidates to be "strong candidates for our open positions."