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Superintendent urges assistant principal at Goodwin after accreditation review
Summary
Superintendent told the Old Saybrook board NEASC recommendations and rising special‑education referrals make additional administrative support at Goodwin School necessary; the board asked for job descriptions and assurances the roles could be sustained long‑term.
The Old Saybrook superintendent urged the board on Jan. 28 to add an assistant principal at Goodwin School and to fund two additional positions or supports after the district received an NEASC accreditation report that highlighted gaps in centralized processes and curriculum development.
"I am a strong supporter that I think it's time to add an assistant principal at Goodwin School," Superintendent Chris said, noting Goodwin is the district’s largest elementary building and currently the only building with a single administrator on site. He said rising special‑education referrals and a growing number of 504 plans are increasing demands on building leadership.
Chris summarized the accreditation report as a constructive review that identified opportunities to centralize processes districtwide — for example, curriculum‑development and transition supports between elementary and secondary schools — and said the district lacks current infrastructure to implement recommendations without additional staff. He estimated the three priority items he was raising for board consideration would cost roughly $315,000, though later training and insurance updates reduced the immediate request to about $216,000.
Board members expressed support for the idea but pressed for more specifics. Questions included whether the assistant principal position would require a Connecticut 092 administrative certificate, how the positions would be funded beyond the first year, and the precise tasks that would be relieved from teachers and building principals.
Board member Karina and others said the goal of additional administrative support is to allow teachers to focus on instruction and to ensure administrators can respond to multiple simultaneous incidents. The superintendent pledged to return with job descriptions, a sustainability plan and more concrete cost allocations.
Next steps: Administration will draft job descriptions and a funding plan for the new positions and report back to the board before finalizing budget presentations to the board of finance.
(Quotes and attributions in this article come from the board meeting transcript.)
