New Superintendent Greets Bethel Community In Her Own Words

"Dear Parents, Care Givers, and Community Members:

It is my great pleasure to welcome you back to school for what promises to be another great year in Bethel! On behalf of our Board of Education and our entire staff, we wish you the very best as we embark on this new school year.

I am honored to assume the role as the new Superintendent of Bethel Public Schools and am committed to continue to ensuring that the children of Bethel have the highest quality of educational services to maximize their individual potentials. I look forward to becoming embedded in the Bethel community and opportunities to meet you at school and community events.

You may be interested to know a little bit about my background. I started my teaching career as a Special Education Teacher at the high school level (for 11 years) after graduating from the University of Connecticut. I obtained a Master's Degree at the University of Connecticut in special education and a 6th year degree in administration at Sacred Heart University.

After receiving my administrative certification, I worked as a Department Chair, Supervisor of Special Education and Director of Special Services, including special education, Section 504, homebound tutoring and school nursing. I was appointed in two different districts to Assistant Superintendent of Schools which provided me direct experience in: oversight of curriculum, instruction and assessment; services for English Language Learners; grant writing and management, oversight of all human resource functions; development and oversight of teacher and administrator evaluation; budget development and management; and oversight of all district professional learning. In addition, I received my doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Connecticut in 2009, while also obtaining my certification to become a Superintendent of Schools.

My experiences include both urban and suburban settings, providing me with a variety of perspectives in developing a vision and philosophy to promote student success at all levels. I am passionate about teaching and learning. The quality of instruction a child receives is the strongest indicator of their future success. This is well documented in the research and my personal experience.

Therefore, I feel that our main charge is to support teachers in their continued growth, ensuring that they have the appropriate skills and resources to do their job effectively. Ultimately, my goal would be that our students who graduate from Bethel Public Schools have the ability to collaborate, think creatively and analytically, problem solve, have strong communication skills and be adept with the
changing technology and information resources to be college and career ready."