On June 29 at a special meeting, Branford Board of Education (BOS) chairman Frank Carrano officially announced Hamlet Hernandez, a North Branford resident, has been named Branford's new school chief.

Hernandez most recently served as Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Hamden; and also has years of experience as a principal and a bilingual mathematics teacher. Hernandez attended the meeting with the proud support of several proud family members and was welcomed by a group of educators, parents, town representatives and others during the brief announcement at Walsh Intermediate School.

"As I thought about the entire process, I'm overwhelmed by it," said Hernandez of Branford's extensive search to replace Dr. Kathleen Halligan, who officially retired at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.

Hernandez said that, from "…the first interview, it felt as if there was a very, very good fit."

Members of the superintendent search committee and BOE were impressed by Hernandez' track record as a person with "…day-to-day involvement and very effective working relationships with building administrators, union representatives and board members," according to message issued from the BOE.

They also approved of Hernandez' thorough understanding of instruction and curriculum in his work to eradicate Hamden's student learning gap.

Halligan was named interim superintendent until Hernandez officially takes the post on Aug. 16.

Stressing children come first, Hernandez promised his time, attention, energy and dedication to the job.

"I look forward to working collaboratively…my door will be open and most importantly, my ears will be open," Hernandez said.