CONWAY — Anne Axton-Jones brings 30 years of experience in education to her quest to be the next principal at Conway Grammar School.
The sitting principal of Mayberry Elementary School in East Hartford, Conn., Jones hopes to replace Judith Siciliano, who will retire on June 30. Jones used to work in South Hadley and feels a connection to western Massachusetts.
“The welcoming, community feel to Conway really appeals to me. Conway matches — actually, the district — matches my philosophy for education, which is really important to me,” she said to a roomful of community members during a meet-and-greet on Wednesday. “I have a particular affinity for literacy and writing. I have a lot of staff development background, a lot of administrative background, and I did spend two years as a curriculum director in an agricultural community.”
Jones said she spent 23 years as an elementary school teacher and has accrued experience in implementing changes. Inside the Conway Grammar School library, she stressed it is important to allow teachers to ease into transitions and requirements and to foster an environment of teamwork.
“That’s my leadership style — ‘We can do this. This is not insurmountable. We can do it. We can do it together,’” she said. “I think most teachers are really waiting for someone to say that to them. They’re waiting for someone to say, ‘It’s OK to take your time. You don’t have to cram everything into one day.’”
Jones also went into detail about Second Cup of Coffee, a once-a-month program Mayberry Elementary started to give parents a chance to sit down in the school’s family resource center and get to know one another and some teachers. She said it is crucial to build relationships with a community’s families.
She also mentioned she has no assistant principal at Mayberry, though she works with a wonderful team of educators.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 257. On Twitter, follow @DomenicPoli