District Hires New Assistant Superintendent

By Laurie Borst

The Board of Education opened its meeting on the evening of April 10 with the introduction of the district’s new assistant superintendent. Dr Linda A. Gejda will replace Alice Jackson, who will retire at the end of the school year.

“We have found an outstanding candidate in Dr Linda Gejda,” stated board Vice Chair Lisa Schwartz, “I know that she is the right person, a great match for Newtown. She is thoughtful, compassionate, soft-spoken and articulate and intelligent.”

Mrs Schwartz read from letter of reference received from a principal Dr Gejda worked with: “Should you choose to make the same decision we did, you will gain a highly competent, personable and effective school administrator who never forgets that we are all here for our students.”

Dr Gejda began her career as a science teacher in Region 15 at Rochambeau Middle School in Southbury. She served as assistant principal at Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield.

In 2000, she joined the Manchester Public Schools where she was the K–12 supervisor for math, science, and technology. During that time, she served as interim assistant superintendent.

Dr Gejda holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Siena College; a master of science in education and a sixth year degree in secondary science instruction from Southern Connecticut State University; a sixth year degree in administration from Sacred Heart University; and last May, earned her doctorate in education from University of Hartford.

Among her many professional activities, Dr Gejda has served as a site visitation team member for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), scorer for BEST science portfolios, reviewer of the Science Praxis Test for the State Department of Education, and sat on the Advisory Board for Middle Level Development: CAS.

She has written journal articles including, “Addressing Standards and Testing Without ‘Teaching to the Test,’” and has successfully written numerous educational grants.