AMHERST — After considering different leadership models for the town’s elementary schools, school officials have decided to hire interim assistant principals at Crocker Farm and Wildwood schools.
At Crocker Farm School, Jennifer Smith — a reading specialist at the school for the last six years — was announced as the new assistant principal. And at Wildwood, fifth-grade teacher Allison Estes will take that role. The two will both serve for the current school year, after which district officials hope to fill the positions on a more permanent basis.
The hirings come after a state audit found that the district had not been in full compliance with licensing requirements for several administrators, leading to turnover in some of those positions. The assistant principal positions at Wildwood and Crocker Farm were previously held by Yaldira Brown and Sharri Conklin, who did not have appropriate licenses. Their departures from those roles led district officials to consider the possibility of changing the leadership model at the elementary schools, though Superintendent Michael Morris decided against that change.
“We looked at the work that would be needed if we didn’t have them,” Morris said of the assistant principal positions.
Ultimately, district leadership didn’t want principals to have to take on the additional work — Individualized Education Plans, teacher evaluations and observations and other tasks — currently done by assistant principals.
“When we did that it just became clear to us that in order for the principal to do instructional leadership, they didn’t need to have those additional responsibilities on top of what they were doing,” Morris said.
Estes and Smith join Renee Greenfield, a former specialized instructional coach in the district who was hired this spring as the permanent assistant principal at Fort River School. Morris said that all of the district’s leadership now have their necessary licenses, including the recent hires — a fact confirmed by using the state’s public lookup for educator licensure.
Before becoming a reading specialist in the district for the last six years, Smith worked in Philadelphia elementary schools for six years. She has her undergraduate degree from Drexel University, and a master’s degree in reading from Columbia University. She obtained her professional administrative license through coursework at the University of Pennsylvania, according to Crocker Farm Principal Derek Shea.
“She is dedicated, passionate, and hardworking, and I am excited that she will take on the role as Interim Assistant Principal,” Shea said in an email to Crocker Farm families. During the week of Aug. 20, Smith will be formally introduced.
Estes became a fifth-grade teacher last year at Wildwood, and beforehand spent 16 years as a special-education teacher at Plymouth Elementary School in Plymouth, N.H.
Estes has two master’s degrees in education, and became certified as a principal through Plymouth State University, according to an email to Wildwood families from Principal Nick Yaffe.
“She was a teacher leader who helped her school develop a co-teaching model and alternative means of assessments that reflected students’ abilities more accurately than standardized testing,” Yaffe wrote. “At Plymouth, Allison had multiple experiences, such as being the case manager who facilitated special education meetings and organizing student data to guide the Response to Intervention process, which are significant aspects of our assistant principal role.”
Estes will be introduced to the school community on Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 6:30 p.m.
Not everyone, however, is happy that the recent licensure lapses ultimately led to the loss of two principals — Brown and Patty Bode, the former middle school principal. Morris said he has heard those concerns.
“I always appreciate folks advocating on the part of educators,” he said. “In this situation, it’s unfortunate the way it played out.”
Morris said he hopes the school community can meet and begin developing positive relationships with the new members of the district’s leadership.