Troup Gets A Principal

After almost half a year as interim principal of Troup Magnet School, Michelle Bonora (pictured at top) was chosen to fill the position permanently.

Bonora (position) won the position after a committee search of five candidates. She was a business and technology teacher at Career High School and then its assistant principal. She went through the Achievement First principal-in-residence program before starting at Troup.

Her salary as interim principal was $135,161. It will now rise to $138,091.

Her appointment was announced at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting at Martinez School. Also announced was the appointment of David Diah (pictured) as assistant principal at Hillhouse High School in the Law and Public Safety and Health Academy under Principal Zakiyyah Baker. He was an administrative intern at the academy this year. ​“I’m here to serve the students of New Haven,” Diah said, addressing the public at the board meeting. ​“I hope to help students graduate and to produce good citizens.” His salary will be $111,841.

Harries wrote in a note to the board that he will ​“continue to consider the overall leadership structure” at Hillhouse, which has three ​“academies,” or schools within the school, each with its own principal and administrators. Harries said he will make a recommendation to the board in the summer.

A third announcement: Timothy Jones has been appointed Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School’s new arts director after a school-based series of interviews with a committee. He was hired though competing with other ​“much more seasoned candidates of many different backgrounds,” according to Harries.

Jones attended Co-op and has a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Columbia University. According to Lola Garcia-Blocker, director of College and Career Pathways, he always said he wanted to be arts director of the school as a high schooler. His salary is $70,000.

“I will note that these appointments reflect one white woman and two African American men,” Harries wrote in his note to the board.

15 Teachers Resign

In a personnel report, Harries reported the resignation of 15 teachers from district schools, including five science and math teachers.

“I’m concerned because we’re actually losing teachers,” said board member Daisy Gonzalez. ​“Are they going to be replaced?”

“In general, yes,” Harries responded. ​“Every year we lose teachers. We end up hiring hundreds of replacements.”

“Are we concerned at all about the number of science teachers we’re losing?” board member Che Dawson asked.

“Absolutely,” Harries responded. Science, special education, library and math instructors are difficult to replace, he said. Many science teachers are Teach for America candidates and often stay for only two years, though ​“we try to retain them for a third and fourth year.”