NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck public school system last year had its first middle school principal of the year in Hillside Intermediate School Principal Johnna Hunt.
Now, Naugatuck can boast that it has the first principal in residence at the State Department of Education. That person is none other than Johnna Hunt.
Hunt, who is in her sixth year as a principal, caught the attention of State Department of Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor last year when she gave the keynote speech at the Connecticut teacher of the year celebration, Pryor said Wednesday.
At that event, Hunt discussed the new teacher evaluation plan and how Hillside has created an environment where teachers support one another and work collaboratively to bring about positive change. Pryor promptly asked Hunt if she would be willing to work with the state as a sort of liaison between school administrators and state policy-makers.
“I am honored to help them in any way possible,” Hunt said, adding that much of her success is due to the faculty and staff at Hillside.
She spends two days out of the week at the Department of Education’s talent office, which works to ensure that the most effective educators are in every school and classroom and all students are prepared for college, career and life, according to the organization’s website. The other three days, Hunt is in her role as principal at Hillside.
To make the move possible, the Naugatuck Board of Education hired former Hillside teacher Alyce Misuraca as assistant principal in residence at Hillside. Naugatuck receives a stipend from the state to have Hunt serving in Hartford to help offset the cost.
Pryor attended the Naugatuck Board of Education meeting Wednesday to tell the board of the work Hunt has been doing at the state level. He said she is working with the Department of Education’s talent division on professional learning and teacher and administrator evaluation.
He said there are many reasons why he chose Hunt for the position, including that she helped turn Hillside from one of the lowest performing schools in the district on standardized tests to one of the highest performing in the past five years.
“The achievement gap is closing here,” he said, adding that Hunt will be honored tonight as the state’s middle school principal of the year during a ceremony in Portland. “Folks are already seeing the insights and feeling inspired from Johnna’s presence. It really is generous of you to share one of your finest assets with us.”
