CHESHIRE -- Two new principals officially introduced themselves to the community at Monday's Adams-Cheshire Regional School District meeting.
Vinnie Regan and Michelle Colvin are preparing to step into the role at Hoosac Valley High School and C.T. Plunkett Elementary School, respectively, at the start of the coming school year.
Both are Berkshire County natives, with Regan hailing from Lanesborough and Colvin from North Adams, and each expressed excitement about having a place behind the principal's desk so close to home.
"I've been in public schools for awhile," Regan said. "Now, I'm coming back to the age group I used to teach, and I'm excited for that. ... I was just house hunting today."
Regan will find himself at the top spot in a newly renovated Hoosac Valley with a larger student population. The job description bends toward administrative responsibilities, as the building will also have two assistant principals -- one of these being former principal Henry Duval.
Regan is leaving Ashland Public Schools, where he was an assistant principal last year. His salary at Hoosac will be $75,000 a year.
Colvin derives her career experience from Clarksburg Elementary School, where she was a special education teacher, and most recently, from Berlin Elementary School in Berlin, N.Y., where she served as principal.
"I really wanted to prove to myself that I could manage the principal's job, so I went to
Colvin has been principal in Berlin since 2003. That district was awarded the Pathfinder Award for excellence in student achievement on the NYS Assessments under her administration.
Colvin spoke of her familiarity in "dealing with the challenges" of declining student enrollment, bullying, improving student performance on standardized tests and conforming to federal and state education expectations.
"I am so thankful for the mentoring and opportunities that working in the Berlin Central School District provided, and I'm looking forward to starting the next chapter of my career with the wonderfully child-centered and enthusiastic faculty and staff at C.T. Plunkett Elementary School," she said.
Colvin's commitment to Berlin comes to a close at the start of August, whereupon she will become the part-time understudy of current Plunkett principal Kristen Gordon.
"It's really a great transition plan," Gordon said. "There's a lot of collaboration between Michelle, myself and [district Superintendent] Al [Skrocki]."
Skrocki said Colvin should take on the full role sometime in September.
"I'm very excited to finish things up where I am and come on board, and hopefully I'll do great things here, as well," Colvin said.
The salary for the position is roughly $85,000.
In other business, Skrocki reported the Hoosac Valley project is "95 percent complete" inside the building.
"We want to coordinate through the building committee some open houses, as we're planning to do a number of them in August," Skrocki said.
These include open houses for government officials, former employees, parents and the general public. Skrocki also said a ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned for the end of September.
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