Public invited to meet CTES principal candidates Final two from field of 17 to be available on Monday

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Cavendish Town Elementary School Photo provided

Members of the community will get a chance to hear from and ask questions of the finalists for the principal position at Cavendish Town Elementary School on Monday evening, June 11, 2018.

According to a press release from the Two Rivers Supervisory Union, the search committed has selected two finalists – Debra Beaupre of Meriden, N.H., and Adam Rosen of Montpelier —  from a field that began with 17 applications.

Thirteen of the applicants had the proper qualifications for the position and they were vetted by the search committee, which selected three candidates to interview. Following the first round of interviews, one of the three dropped out citing a need for a multi-year rather than one year contract according to GMUSD board and search committee member Doug McBride.

Beaupre and Rosen met with groups of students, faculty and staff at the Cavendish Town Elementary School on Wednesday, June 6. After community members meet the candidates on June 11, they will be interviewed by the Green Mountain Unified School District Board the following night.

Beaupre is currently assistant principal at the Newport City Elementary School in Newport, Vt. Prior to becoming an assistant principal, Beaupre taught for many years in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades as well as working as a Title 1 reading teacher.

Rosen currently works as an early educator at the Waterbury Children’s Early Learning Space. For 11 years prior to that, he was the principal of the Rumney Memorial School in Middlesex.

On Monday evening, each finalist will be given a classroom. Community members will meet with each candidate for 25 minutes, then switch classrooms. Community members are invited to arrive at 6:25 p.m. for classroom assignments. After meeting the candidates, attendees will be asked to give feedback that will be shared with the GMUSD Board of Directors the following evening.

From the beginning, the process of replacing longtime CTES Principal George Thomson has been fraught with troubles. First, TRSU Superintendent Meg Powden proposed that the position be filled with a dean of students who would not need certification as a principal. Under that scheme, Chester-Andover Elementary would also get a dean and current CAES Principal Katherine Fogg would supervise both schools.

But that idea was met with resistance not just from Cavendish, but from Chester as well. Then the position of CTES principal was restored but only as a one-year interim ostensibly to allow the district time to assess its goals and decide on a management structure. After candidate Madeleine Carlock accepted the interim job on April 17, and then withdrew the next day, Cavendish residents renewed their calls to make the job permanent. At first Powden resisted, saying, “It’s too late to change.”

But with Cavendish residents packing an April 30 GMUSD meeting and presenting a petition signed by more than 400 people, the board voted to make the job – in the words of board chair Marilyn Mahusky – “full-time, permanent.”

“With a one-year contract,” Powden quickly added.

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