School systems cast net wide for administrators

As published in the Record Journal Friday June 14, 2013

By Eric Vo
Record-Journal staff
evo@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@ericvoRJ

WALLINGFORD — The clear trend in hiring local school administrators has been to look out of town.

Eight of the school system’s 12 principals came from elsewhere, as did the superintendent and two assistant superintendents.

The four principals who were working within the school system before being promoted are David Bryant, of Lyman Hall High School; Rosemary Duthie, of Sheehan High School; Richard Napoli, of Parker Farms School; and Jan Murphy, of Cook Hill School.

And although Napoli was promoted in 2012, he was hired in 2011 from Stratford, where he had been an assistant principal.

Since Salvatore Menzo became school superintendent in 2009, moving from Marlborough, Napoli has been the only internal hire to fill an administrative position. Sashi Govin, from Canton, was hired this year to replace Ann Cocchiola as principal at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School. Joseph Piacentini, the principal at Moran, was hired in 2012 from Willimantic. Carrie LaTorre, principal at Rock Hill, was hired in 2010 from Easton. Deborah Dayo, principal at Yalesville School, came from Stratford when she was hired in 2010. Robert Arciero, principal at Moses Y. Beach, was hired in 2009 from West Hartford, and Nicholas Brophy, principal at E.C. Stevens School, was hired in 2011 from Westport.

The remaining two principals, hired before Menzo became superintendent, also came from outside the town. Victoria Reed, principal at Highland School, was hired in 2001 from Groton. Richard Pizzonia was hired in 2005 from Southbury to be principal at Pond Hill.

The most recent administrative hire is Colin McNamara, who is replacing Jan Guarino, assistant superintendent for personnel. McNamara is coming to Wallingford from Killingly. Guarino is leaving to become superintendent in Old Saybrook.

Though the vast majority of the principals were hired from outside the school system, Guarino said each situation is different. The number of applications from staff already working in the school system depends on the vacant position, Guarino said.

“No one from the inside went for my position. I don’t know if that’s necessarily true with Ellen Cohn’s position. It might be different,” Guarino said. “Sometimes, internal folks don’t go for these positions.”

Cohn, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, is leaving the school system to take a director’s job with the state Department of Education.

Guarino said Menzo continues to look at internal candidates. Although hiring from within is desirable, Menzo said the goal is to hire the best candidate, even if the best are coming from outside the school system.

“We always look for the best candidate,” Menzo said. “If it happens to be someone internally, that’s fantastic.”

Menzo said professional development will continue in order to provide more opportunities for local teachers. In addition, he said he is investigating development programs in other school systems that Wallingford might adopt.

In Meriden, a leadership academy was developed two years ago, said Thomas Giard, assistant superintendent for personnel and staff development. Partnering with the Connecticut Association of Schools, the program gives teachers the chance to learn more about the school system’s policies and to improve their work in the classroom.

Southington schools have a similar program. The town’s schools have partnered with Central Connecticut State University to give interested teachers a chance to participate in a two-year program, School Superintendent Joseph Erardi said. For the first year, professors from CCSU come to Southington to teach the teachers. The second year consists of an internship in which the teachers must complete 500 hours of professional service in a project or program, Erardi said.

“It’s an enormous win-win. ... I’m pleased and proud of the program,” Erardi said.

Giard and Erardi credited their school systems’ programs for helping them achieve a balance of internal and external hires. Of the last 12 administrative positions filled in Meriden, Giard said eight were from within the school system and four came from outside. Southington hired a new assistant principal for Derynoski School on Thursday from a pool of 175 applicants, many coming from within the school system, Erardi said. Kelly A. Nichols, a teacher at Southington’s DePaolo Middle School, was selected.

All three superintendents stressed the importance of hiring the best candidate.

And though Meriden and Southington have made more internal hires recently, Giard stressed the importance of bringing people in from the outside.

“We value the outside perspectives. We don’t pretend to be the best at everything,” he said. “There are lessons learned and knowledge gained.”

As Guarino says, an internal hire “understands the climate and culture of the community and the sense of history,” but with outside hires “you get new ideas and different experiences.

“Once you’re part of an institution, you don’t think of it differently,” she said. “So it’s nice to have new ideas.”