Kristin DeFrancisco, a fifth-grade teacher at Hardy, has accepted the position of principal of that school, the Arlington public schools’ administration said Tuesday, May 7. She will officially assume her responsibilities July 1.
DeFrancisco has worked in the town’s public schools since 1997, where she first taught grade six at the Dallin Elementary and Ottoson Middle schools.
From 2008 to 2012, she was a third grade teacher at Hardy.
DeFrancisco has been an active participant on the Hardy Building Leadership Team and School Council, as well as on the District-wide Educator Evaluation Task Force. She has also contributed to the district’s ongoing Common Core State Standards curriculum mapping and alignment initiatives.
She attended Regis College, where she received a B.A. in English, a master’s in elementary education and a certificate in elementary education. She received her middle school and elementary school principal licenses through the Massachusetts Elementary Schools Principals’ Association, having completed her administrative internships in Arlington.
“We are very pleased to welcome Ms. DeFrancisco into a new role in Arlington,” Dr. Kathleen Bodie, superintendent of schools, said in a news release.
“Kristin brings to her new leadership position her experience as a teacher in the Elementary Level, as well as active involvement in District-wide Committees. Through her years of teaching and active committee work, she brings a deep understanding of the mission of the Arlington Public Schools and the wonderful teaching and learning taking place in our schools,” said .
DeFrancisco was among three finalists for the position announced April 12.
The others were Dustin Gray, principal of Garrison Elementary School in the Dover, N.H.; and John Maxwell, an assistant principal the Harrington Elementary School in Lexington.
The current principal, Deborah D’Amico, at Hardy seven years and education for nearly 40, is retiring in June.
Gray has been a principal in the New Hampshire district since 2006. Before assuming that role, he was an assistant principal in the Londonderry, New Hampshire School District. Mr. Gray has taught Grade 6 in the Dover, N.H., School District and grade four in the Alexandria, Va., public schools.
Gray received a B.S in education from Greensboro College in North Carolina and a master of education from the University of New Hampshire.
Maxwell is also a classroom teacher at the Harrington. Previously, he was the principal of the Hansen Elementary School in Canton, Mass. He has also been an assistant principal in North Attleborough, a grade three and four classroom teacher and library media specialist in Wellesley and a grade four teacher in Sutton.
Maxwell received a B.A. in psychology and education from UMass./Amherst, a master of education from UMass./Amherst and he completed his principal licensure through Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association.
This story was published Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
