New administrative trio heads up CCS

Stephanie Sumner, Jen Roth and Cassandra Townshend are the trio heading up Charlotte Central School’s administration this fall semester. Lead principal Sumner is the PreK–8 building principal and PreK–4 instructional leader. Co-Principal Roth is the 5–8 instructional leader. Townshend is CCS director of special education and CVSD behavior systems coordinator.

The lead principal holds the responsibility of working directly with district leadership and the school board regarding facilities, operations, budget and policy work, but both principals take direct leadership roles in instructional and behavior structures at the school. Sumner began transitioning into her new role over the summer after working closely with previous lead principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll over the past two years. “Jen, Cassandra and I share many important core beliefs and values regarding education and working with children, teachers and families,” Sumner said. “Jen and Cassandra possess expertise in areas that I can learn from.”

Roth’s official title is “co-principal/middle level instructional leader.” She grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin and moved to Vermont in her senior of high school. She’s a graduate of Mount Mansfield Union High, the University of Vermont and Trinity College of Vermont.

Sumner worked with Roth over the past few years while they were both completing the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership program at St. Michael’s College. “Her passion for working with students, teachers, families and communities, as well as her capacity for providing leadership stood out, and these were areas of immediate connection and shared core values for us,” Sumner said.

Roth comes to CCS from Hinesburg Community School where she was a classroom teacher. Her first two weeks at CCS have been filled with getting to know staff and the building but also reaching out to families to hear about their hopes for their children’s year, she said. She will be working closely with Sumner and Townshend. “We are calibrating our vision, sharing our knowledge and creating a cohesive voice to our staff and community,” Roth said. “By supporting teachers, I commit to the success and well-being of our students. Children are at the heart of everything I do.”

Roth said she feels blessed to be stepping into a passionate group of educators. “Their experience and knowledge should be celebrated,” she said.