By JACLYN GODDETTE
NEW LONDON — Christine Downing and Andy Chouinard will replace two principals in the Kearsarge Regional School District (KRSD).
Superintendent Winfried Feneberg announced the nominations during his update at the KRSD school board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Downing will replace Steve Potoczak at Sutton Central School and also serve as the district’s elementary curriculum director.
Downing has years of experience at the teaching and administrative level. She was the former district director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Lebanon and has held various positions in Newport, Nashua and at the New Hampshire Department of Education.
Downing is currently the curriculum specialist at Stevens High School. She is certified as a curriculum administrator, elementary teacher and math specialist for Grades 5-8.
Downing was in attendance Thursday night and said she was looking forward to working in the district.
“When I heard about this opportunity, I thought ‘this is the job I’m looking for,’” she explained.
“I’ve done district-level administrative jobs, but what I found is that I love being with teachers and students every day.”
Previously, the principal position was an 11-month, 260-day contract. Upon review, the district decided to alter it to an 11-month, 225-day contract. The previous principal position did not include curriculum.
Feneberg explained that the district is planning a community meeting to introduce Downing to the school ahead of her start date.
Current Assistant Principal of East Derry Memorial Elementary School Andy Chouinard will replace Jim Spadaro at Kearsarge Regional Elementary School Bradford.
Before his current position, Chouinard was employed in the Deerfield School District as teacher and administrator. He is certified as a principal and physical education teacher.
Spadaro will retire at the end of the school year after 14 years as principal of Bradford.
The starting salary is $92,000 for both positions.
During the school board meeting, Principal of Simonds School Laura Stoneking presented the results of the Young Inventors Program’s recent invention convention.
The Young Inventors Program is a chance for students to learn STEM skills. The objective of the invention convention was to develop a unique invention that would solve a real-world problem.
Several students who scored well during the convention presented their creations.
Inventions ranged from a mop that doesn’t strain the user’s back to a “kibble cover” that prevents dogs from eating cat food.
“This is our second year doing this,” said Stoneking, “and our participation numbers just about doubled.”
The board also held a public hearing to accept $210,656 from the State of New Hampshire Public School Infrastructure Fund, which Director of Facilities Todd Fleury helped secure.
The money will go towards purchasing security cameras for Kearsarge Regional Middle School and the SAU, as well as safety vestibules for Simonds, Sutton Central School and Kearsarge Regional High School.
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