This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
07/10/2024 12:02 PMREGIONAL
Progress in personnel and projects at John Winthrop Middle School (JWMS) has been met with the appointment of a new principal and the completion of the first major step to assuage the mold outbreak at the school, said district officials.
On July 7, the Region 4 School District appointed Carolyn Gbunblee as the new principal of JWMS. Gbunblee has a collective 15 years of experience in the field of education as both a classroom teacher and building administrator. In regards to the latter, she was the former associate principal at Valley Regional High School (VRHS) for the past eight years leading up to her recent appointment as principal.
Gbunblee’s experience within the Tri-Town education system was a major point of confidence for district officials in her appointment as principal of a school whose students faced challenging times while undergoing their mid-level education at the high school when JWMS was closed due to a mold outbreak.
“I am grateful to have a leader in our district familiar to staff, students, and families who is able to take the helm at this time,” Superintendent Brian White stated in a press release following Gbunblee’s appointment. “I am confident that Dr. Gbunblee will meet with success in her new role and lead the Winthrop Middle School community into its next chapter.”
Gbunblee is “humbled and flattered” to have been selected the middle school’s new chief administrator and to be moving on to a new grade level where she will build new relationships with students and staff, she told the Valley Courier.
“Having in been in-district people know me and know my leadership style and how I work, and so to be thought of in that way and be the candidate to move forward [as the principal], I was really humbled and flattered by that.”
Returning to mid - level education, where her former classroom role was, is another point of excitement for her.
“It's such a different age group than the high school. They're finding themselves at that age and really going through one of the biggest transitions in life, and so I'm excited to work with staff and to be able to support the middle school level student,” she said.
Due to the mold situation JWMS students had their education at the high school last year. While establishing good relationships with students and staff has also been an important part of her nearly decade - long tenure at VRHS, it was an especially important task last year.
“I had to do a lot of work in making sure that we had a space for all the John Winthrop classes as well as the Valley classes,” she said. “I think supporting our staff and students as they dealt with the limited space was the biggest task as administrators.”
This experience “solidified” her relationships-first philosophy as an school administrator, being attentive to student and staff needs, and keep in close communication with them. This is something she is committed to doing once staff and students return to the JWMS building.
“I want to continue that at John Winthrop and make sure that the teachers there are supported, because they're equally impacted,” she said.
The district also marked a major step in the overall mold remediation process which began in the spring of this year, having now completed the removal of all mold in and around the JWMS building thanks to its vendor, Bestech. The effort now moves into its second phase consisting of necessary repairs and the reinstallation of the building’s infrastructure and systems, White informed the Valley Courier.
“Now what we have to get into as part of the second phase is the reinstallation of pipes, the replacement of some of the ceiling tiles—any of the work to essentially put the building back together now that the remediation is complete,” he said.
While the district has yet to select a vendor for the second phase, the goal remains for reconstruction of the building to occur during the summertime for a reopening of the building to staff and students in the fall. Although the district originally had the goal of reopening JWMS for the first day of the 2024-’-25 academic year, that timeline is uncertain, said White.
Recent communication from the district to its families has outlined three options for reentry: a fresh reopening for the first day of school, a reopening on day one with ongoing construction, or, “we start the year again in Valley while the project is completed, before we can simply reenter the building,” said White.
White added that one of those scenarios will become the more likely timeline once the district has secured its reconstruction vendor by the final week of July.
In the situation middle school students begin their education in fall 2024 at the high school, Gbunblee said she will continue to “work together really effectively“ with a familiar staff at VRHS ”to make sure that both schools are getting what they need.“