The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
School board hires new principal
Superintentent: ‘Great fit’ for Macdonough School
MIDDLETOWN >> The Middletown Board of Education named Damian Reardon as principal of Macdonough School Tuesday night in a special meeting. The process involved community and staff in the review of 64 applicants and several rounds of interviews over the last four weeks, according to a release.
The board voted unanimously in support of his appointment.
He will replace interim principal Steve Woznicki, who took over at the beginning of the 201617 school year when nine-year Macdonough principal Jon Ro-
meo left last June to take a job at Gainfield Elementary School in Southbury.
Reardon is the principal of Salish Ponds Elementary School in Fairview, Oregon. Previously, he was principal at a sixth- through eighthgrade middle school for four years and has taught at the elementary and middle school levels. He also served as a mathematics teacher on special assignment and led the district’s K-5 mathematics plan through adoption by the school board, according to Middletown Public Schools.
Reardon is experienced with Title I as well as managing other grants to support his school and is knowledgeable about the Common Core state standards and aligned his school plans to meet those standards. Oregon also uses the SBAC assessment so he is familiar with this testing process, the press release continues.
“I am honored to be chosen as the next principal of Macdonough School. I look forward to becoming a member of the school’s community and working with the students, staff and families,” Riordan said in a prepared statement.
He plans to relocate with his family to Connecticut this summer.
“We look forward to welcoming Mr. Reardo to Middletown and involving him in our community. I spoke with him last night and he can’t wait to begin,” Superintendent of Schools Patricia Charles said in a statement on Wednesday morning. “He plans to fly back before the close of the school year so he can introduce himself to staff and parents before they leave for the summer. I think he’s a great fit for our school.”