By Lisa Scagliotti, Waterbury Roundabout
A search committee has chosen a veteran teacher at Fayston Elementary School to be the school’s next principal.
“We are excited to announce that our top choice, Justina Boyden, was the overwhelming favorite to serve as the next Fayston principal. Justina is a lifelong resident of Fayston, attended the school as a child, graduated from Harwood, and has been a Fayston teacher for the past 27 years,” the committee wrote in an announcement to the community on Friday, July 7.
The search to fill the position came together quickly after Principal Celia Guggemos resigned in mid-June as the school year ended. Guggemos, who led the school for four years, accepted a new position as principal at Berlin Elementary School, a job that will have her working in the community where she lives.
The search committee received four applications for the Fayston job and interviewed two candidates, it said in its announcement.
Included in the announcement were comments from Boyden who said she is “proud and honored” to have been chosen for the new role.
“I am excited to continue fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment in a place that is near and dear to me. I bring a deep commitment to the Fayston community and a passion for inspiring young minds,” Boyden said. “I look forward to working collaboratively with students, families, caregivers, and staff to ensure academic excellence and personal growth for all.”
A 1992 alumna of Harwood Union High School, Boyden received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Vermont and said she student-taught at what was then Waterbury Elementary School before going to work at Fayston Elementary. Boyden also has a master’s degree in special education from UVM and is currently working to complete a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in School Leadership at Saint Michael's College.
In addition to classroom and direct work with students, Boyden said she has been an educational consultant with the Center for Responsive Schools for the past eight years. She also has been an active member of the Harwood school district’s union leadership for many years as a building representative, vice president, and most recently as current co-president.
Harwood history and social studies teacher Matt Henchen currently is the district’s other union co-president. Union officers are elected to two-year terms, Boyden said. She and Henchen just finished the first year of their terms.
Due to the timing of the Fayston vacancy and Boyden’s summer schedule, her start date will be August 8. The hiring committee said it will announce a time later in the summer for the community to meet with Boyden and welcome her in her new role.
Harwood Superintendent Mike Leichliter said the district advertised the Fayston opening starting June 19. It convened a hiring committee to review applications and conduct interviews to fill the principal opening as soon as possible. Contracts for the coming school year began on July 1.
The members of the Fayston Principal Search Committee were: parents and PTO members Andrea Cheney, Deb Powers, and Marisa Wilich; special education teacher Erin Affronti; sixth-grade teacher Doug Bergstein; administrative assistant Amy Yavitz; Harwood school board member Danielle Dukette; Warren School Principal Sam Krotinger; Tanya Cheney, district human resources director; Vermont Principals Association consultant Jay Nichols, and Leichliter.
