Reed Principal Resigns To Take A New Position In East Hartford

By Eliza Hallabeck

Reed Intermediate School Principal Sharon Epple has announced her resignation from the school district.

While Dr Epple said she has “loved working with the fifth and sixth graders,” she said she has also missed working with elementary-aged children, an age bracket she spent her career working with until coming to Reed.

Following Dr Epple’s announced resignation late Thursday, August 16, Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson announced at the Board of Education’s special meeting on Monday, August 20, that Jay Smith, who was the interim principal at Newtown High School before current NHS Principal Charles Dumais came to the district in January 2008, will act as interim principal at Reed as early as this week.

Dr Epple began her teaching career in 1986 at Head O’ Meadow School, where she taught first and second grade, before moving up to an assistant principal job at Saxe Middle School in New Canaan in 1997.

In 2001, Dr Epple advanced again to Regional District 12, serving Roxbury and Bridgewater, respectively the Booth Free School and Burnham School, as principal until 2004. That year she transitioned to Brookfield where she took the helm at Huckleberry Hill Elementary School.

She began her career at Reed Intermediate School in 2009, working first with Anthony Salvatore then with Jennifer Sinal as her assistant principals.

For the sixth grade students who have become used to Dr Epple’s presence at the school, it is Ms Sinal’s presence and Reed’s teachers, Dr Epple said, that make her comfortable with leaving.

“The teachers are what makes the difference for kids, and they are here and hopefully reenergized,” said Dr Epple.

She also said she will miss Reed’s students, and wants them to remember to focus on prioritizing their academics, continuing their reading, writing, and mathematical studies.

Dr Epple said she began looking for a position three to four weeks ago, with Dr Robinson’s knowledge.

With her resignation, Dr Epple said she will be heading toward a new challenge, as principal at a kindergarten through sixth grade school in East Hartford.

“It’s been a process,” said Dr Epple, about her decision to leave, “and it was a really exciting opportunity.”

While it is late in the summer to change positions, Dr Epple said the school district she will be working in is careful and the process of applying “takes a while to roll out.”

Since she began at Reed three years ago, Dr Epple said there have been changes at the school, including reorganizing the fifth and sixth grade classrooms by level at the two-story school. With the reorganization, Dr Epple said, came “[grade] level collaboration like we have never had before.”

Another change had classroom teams reassigned, she said, for balance.

“I’m feeling very confident that Reed is poised to move forward,” said Dr Epple, about the changes. “We’ve worked really hard over these last few years.”

Dr Epple said she hopes the person who fills her position will keep moving forward with the growth happening at Reed.

“I’m feeling really comfortable with where we are at, and for someone coming in to continue that,” she said, “to keep an eye on the intermediate model, and that co-efficiency.”

While Dr Epple said her new position is bittersweet, due to having to leave the students, she also said she believes her new district is a good fit.

Despite being out of the office when the news broke, Dr Robinson responded last week, “We have received the resignation of Dr Sharon Epple, Principal of Reed Intermediate School. We wish her the best as she pursues her new position in an elementary district and we thank her for her service to the students of Newtown.”

This week Board of Education Chair Debbie Leidlein said a committee will be formed to search for a new principal for Reed.

“I wish her the best of luck in her new positions,” said Ms Leidlein.