Veteran principal named Administrator of Year

As published in the Record Journal Thursday June 20, 2013

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

WALLINGFORD - As Victoria Reed reflected on the experiences she’s had as principal of Highland School, she couldn’t help but laugh as she tried to pick her favorite one.

One of her favorite memories was celebrating the 50th birthday of Highland School in 2008, when it was a K-5 school. To celebrate, Reed said, each grade represented a different decade and sang or presented historical information. The event was attended by town officials, school administrators and former Highland teachers and principals.

This year, Reed has something new to add to her list: being named Administrator of the Year.

“It was set up for a staff meeting and then Sal and my mom and sister came in,” she said, noting that a banner had been strung up in the room. “It was certainly a surprise.”

Reed has been principal since 2001, when she was hired to replace Aida B. Campos. She had been a first- and second grade teacher in New York from 1983 until 1996. In September 1996, she was the assistant principal of Mary Morrison Elementary School in New York .

Having been an administrator for more than a decade, Reed said she enjoys seeing the students develop as they progress through the school.

“I like working with the staff and the parents and seeing the growth of the students,” she said. “Even though we’re a K-2 school, you can still see the growth of them as they go on to Yalesville (School). We’re a big family here.”

While she still misses teaching, Reed said she makes an effort to visit students around the school as much as she can.

“I go to the cafeteria often to talk to the kids about sports and I’m at a lot of the town celebrations,” Reed said.

In addition to her responsibilities at Highland, she also was very involved in the teacher evaluation committee, said School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo. Reed is a member of the Connecticut Association of Schools and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

“She’s an exceptional professional. She’s extremely committed to curriculum and instruction at her school,” Menzo said.

As a member of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, she attended a conference in 2009 in New Orleans. She arrived a day early to work with 100 other principals to survey a high school and two elementary schools that had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

“It was exciting, but also to see the damage firsthand was eye-opening,” she said. “There was mud, flood, and so much damage.”

Reed admitted she didn’t have plans to become an administrator, but things fell into place and it worked out. She laughed after telling a story of one of her first days as an administrator.

“As people were leaving and saying goodbye, I realized I had to stay. I said, ‘What? I have to stay even after everyone left?’ But now, I love it. It’s so quiet and I can get so much work done,” she said as she let out a big laugh.

An administrator since 2001, Reed has interacted with many students and parents.

“The residents and community members really care about schools and want their kids to get the best education,” she said, “and the Board of Education works hard to provide it.”