Schools
Oysterponds Principal Finalists Make Pitches
The Oysterponds School District is down to two finalists for its open principal position. Members of the community got to meet them Wednesday night.
The two candidates for principal met on Wednesday to make their pitches to the community.
On one hand there's James Williams, an assistant principal in the Three Village School District who has more than nine years teaching experience in third and fifth grades. His education credentials include SUNY Old Westbury, Dowling College, and SUNY Stony Brook.
On the other is Françoise Wittenburg, an assistant principal in Newburgh, N.Y., who previously worked as a special education teacher in Hawaii and at a charter school in New Jersey. Wittenburg attended La Sorbonne in Paris, Cornell and Teachers College at Columbia University.
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At a candidate's forum at the school Wednesday night, Williams focused his pitch on best practices for schools, including balanced literacy and response to intervention programs. All schools, including Oysterponds, would be required to have an RTI plan by the 2012-2013 school year.
Meanwhile, Wittenburg’s presentation focused on an International Baccalaureate Program she researched and brought to a district, describing the program as rigorous and elite, with lots of writing incorporated throughout the program. She also described her district’s partnership with Vassar College, and the resources it provides both students and faculty.
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In response to a question by Oysterponds board member Linda Goldsmith, Williams tackled the potential for switching receiving high schools for the district’s secondary students. Williams discussed the current relationship with and , saying he would be cautious about “tinkering” with something that is working and moving on to the unknown.
“You need to have a discussion whether you want to fix something that doesn’t seem to be broken,” he said.
Williams said he has looked at graduates from Greenport who are highly successful and told the audience that any student can benefit from the multi-cultural education Greenport offers.
Wittenburg said she would look at graduation rates, how the students prepared for college, course offerings, and Advanced Placement courses in evaluating high schools.
The Oysterponds school board plans to reach a decision in the coming weeks.
