Schools

[Updated] Conard Principal Leaving Effective June 30

Dr. Peter Cummings, who has been principal of West Hartford's Conard High School since 2010, will join the Connecticut Center for School Change.

West Hartford Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen List announced Monday afternoon that Dr. Peter Cummings, who has been principal of Conard High School since 2010, will leave that position effective June 30, 2013 to join the senior leadership team of the Connecticut Center for School Change (CCSC).

In a letter emailed to the Conard community Monday afternoon, List said that Cummings' new position "is a perfect opportunity for him to do the school improvement work he loves, at scale, as well as to engage in research and policy analysis."  

List said that the CCSC posiiton will enable Dr. Cummings to "bring the best of West Hartford to a larger audience."

In her letter, List pointed to many of the successes achieve during Cummings’ tenure, including the US News and World Report recognition of Conard as the number 2 high school in Connecticut and among the top 2 percent nationally.

"He provided essential leadership to our community during the 2011 freak snowstorm when Conard served as a shelter for over 300 West Hartford residents. He has been instrumental in creating nationally known innovative programs such as the AP Boot Camp," List wrote. 

She also noted Cummings' work with the New England League of Innovative Schools, providing guidance to further secondary school reform.

"His high expectations and instructional expertise have put Conard in the national spotlight. I expect we will continue to benefit from his expertise through his leadership at CCSC," List wrote. 

List also announced that Julio Duarte will assume the position of interim principal at Conard.

"Having just undergone the Hall principal search and then matching the pool to Conard we realized we have a match at Conard. We have the Connecticut Assistant Principal of the Year. Therefore, I am recommending that Mr. Julio Duarte serve as Interim Conard Principal for the 2013-14 school year. Julio is well versed in the improvement work underway at Conard and is quite capable of continuing the momentum," she wrote to parents.

According to List, Duarte began his career as a school counselor at King Philip Middle School in the spring of 2003, and then moved to Conard in the same capacity in July of that year. He has been an assistant principal at Conard since 2009.

Duarte has a BA from UCONN, MS from the University of Hartford, and 6thyear degree in Education Leadership from SCSU.

List wrote, "Mr. Duarte’s statewide recognition speaks to his strengths as a leader. He is respected as a leader throughout the building, and has presented across New England on Conard's practices such as AP Boot Camp and college and career readiness best practices. Those who work with Mr. Duarte know him as a problem solver who works to hold students accountable and to help them aspire to be their own best selves. He is ever present at Conard events, and gets to know his students not just in the offices and hallways at Conard, but as young men and women on the athletic fields, in classrooms, in theater productions, or performing music. All students know and respect Mr. Duarte."  

List said that the search for a permanent principal at Conard will begin this winter, with the goal of hiring a candidate to begin prior to the 2014-15 school year.    


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