Community Corner

New Assistant Superintendent Looks to Bring Familiar Approach

Newly promoted Assistant Superintendent Karen Smith hopes to continue her "children-first" approach and carry on a tradition of success in Southington.

When Karen Smith came to Southington schools in 1992, Board of Education member David Derynoski said the district got a dedicated, energetic woman who was in tune with the needs of the children and focused on making sure the students came first.

The only change in the last 19 years, Derynoski said, is the experience Smith has obtained and the positive attitude she has spread to other staff members throughout the district.

Smith’s hard work was rewarded Thursday evening when the Board of Education named her the district’s next assistant superintendent. She will replace Howard J. Thiery, who resigned effective March 31 in order to take the position of Superintendent in East Haddam-Killingsworth.

“Karen has been a mentor to a lot of our principals here in Southington, many who first served as an assistant principal under her,” said Derynoski, who was on the board that first hired Smith. “This was a natural selection for us and we look forward to having her serve as a mentor to all our teachers and administrators in the future. It was an easy selection for us this time around.”

Smith, 63, has earned a reputation throughout the district for her “children-first approach” and the 28-year educator said she’s one of the lucky few that has been able to consider her career a calling rather than a job.

Before she found her home in Southington, however, Smith endured challenges and an ever-changing road to success.

A graduate of Central Connecticut State University, Smith began “many years ago” when she took a job as a fourth-grade teacher in Clinton. A few years later, she found work in Fort Lee, NJ, but worked only one year before moving back to Connecticut with her husband, Don Smith Jr.

With three young children, Smith took a hiatus as a teacher and instead was a stay-at-home mother at the couple’s home in Cheshire – but her break from being a school teacher did not stop her thirst for education.

“I saw it as an opportunity to become involved in the community and to go back and continue my education,” she said. “I found a place on the Cheshire Board of Education and was able to serve for eight years and was also able to go back [to CCSU] for my graduate degrees. When my youngest child began going to school all day, I was ready to go back and found a place at Kennedy Middle School.”

Smith worked for six years as a math teacher but left Southington when an opportunity arose in Manchester, where she was named assistant principal of Illing Middle School.

Her time there was short-lived as the school cut the position a year later – but the change proved to be a blessing as she was quickly promoted to principal after moving to Manchester’s Buckley Elementary School.

When a position at Strong Elementary opened after her first year, however, she applied and was hired by the Southington Board of Education. Since then she has served 19 consecutive years as a principal, including the last 15 years at the Derynoski Elementary School.

Board Chairman Brian Goralski said Smith was a valuable resource and role model for educators across the district – even earning recognition as Connecticut’s principal of the year and speaking in Washington, D.C., in recent years.

Goralski said the board came to a consensus on the selection and is looking forward to seeing her continue her leadership across the entire district.

“To have her join [School Superintendent] Joseph Erardi, it puts Southington in a position where we are the envy of almost every other district in the state,” Goralski said. “We are confident she will serve not only as an educational leader, but as a true model for the entire community.”

Don Smith, who joined his wife for the announcement Thursday evening, said he was happy to see her be recognized for her work. He said she has remained a rock, not only within Southington schools but at home as well.

“I’m just really excited for her right now. This is something she not only deserved, but something she truly earned,” he said.

For Smith, however, the promotion isn’t a cause for anxiety but rather excitement.

Smith said she is looking forward to finishing the year with her students at the Derynoski School – a request Goralski said the board gladly approved – and taking her seat on July 1 as assistant superintendent.

She won’t be in the seat for long though – instead she said one of her immediate goals will be to get out into the schools and meet with teachers, administrators and other staff to find out how she can have a positive impact on the district as a whole.

“I’ve learned so much from my predecessors and my goal is to continue a tradition of strong leadership in a way that would make them proud,” she said.


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