Melissa Bailey Photo
Susan DeNicola will spend her summer moving a school across town, as she becomes one of four new principals around town.
DeNicola was assigned to take helm of Strong School as one of four promotions approved by the school board this week.
DeNicola, who’s 49, of Hamden, has worked for the district for 25 years. She got her start as a teacher at Helene Grant, where she worked for seven years. She went on to teach at Davis Street School for five years, spent another seven as a literacy coach, then served as assistant principal at Conte/West Hills for the past six years.
Strong School is an overflow school for a bubble of young kids in the school system. It currently serves about 300 kids in grades pre‑K to 1.
DeNicola technically starts her job Aug. 24, but she said she’ll be working over the summer to move the school across town from Grand Avenue. Strong School is moving to the former Vincent Mauro school on Orchard Street, which has been vacant since the Davis Street School returned to its revamped home in Westville.
Michael Conner (pictured), who’s been with the school district for eight years, will take over as principal at Augusta Lewis Troup School in the Dwight neighborhood. He’s been acting principal there since February, when the school’s former principal, Richard Kaliszewski, passed away. Connor was most recently an assistant principal at the Celentano Museum Academy. He took part in a new program this year that aims to build leadership among school district staff.
So did Medria Blue-Ellis (pictured), the new principal of the Engineering & Science University Magnet School (ESUMS), the city’s high-performing science magnet school. She left Edgewood to become ESUMS’ interim principal in March. Her appointment aimed to bring stability to a school that had suffered from changing leadership after the former principal fell ill.
Allan Appel File Photo
Suzanne Duran Crelin (pictured with 8th grader D’Andre Ford) was the fourth person promoted Monday. She will become principal of Microsociety Magnet School, where she has been serving as assistant principal.