New Assistant Principal Hired For Newtown High School

By Eliza Hallabeck

Jaime Rivera was unanimously voted by the Board of Education on May 26 to become the newest addition to the Newtown High School faculty. He will become the new assistant principal at the school on July 1.

“This is a very important point in my career,” Mr Rivera said during a recent interview. As he finishes his sixth year studying educational leadership, Mr Rivera began to consider looking for a full-time administrative position when he heard about the opening for a new assistant principal within NHS. “I have worked in administration for six, seven years until now with the state,” he said, “and I like it a lot.

“What’s better than an opportunity to apply within the building, within a school that I do respect a lot and like a lot,” he added.

Assistant Principal John Tusch will be resigning his position at the end of this school year.

Mr Rivera, who has been a Spanish teacher at the school for six years, has also been working as an administrator with the State of Connecticut Vocational Education System, completing his sixth year in educational leadership studies at Southern Connecticut State University. He is an active member of the United States Navy Reserve.

Mr Rivera, who now lives in Shelton, earned a master of arts in Spanish language and Hispanic cultures from Central Connecticut State University and Universidad de Salamanca, and a bachelor’s of teaching English as a second language from St Michael’s College as a Central American Fulbright Scholar.

He said some restructuring of the administrative team at the high school could happen, but, for the most part, he is looking at overseeing scheduling, technology, and advising different departments in the school, including the Foreign Language Department.

“There’s many different changes that are happening at the school,” Mr Rivera said. “I think that we are raising the level of standards that we have for our students. We’re trying to raise the academic outcome that we have in order to make us more competitive.”

Being a part of changing things for the better, he said, is something he is looking forward too, because he left NHS for one year to work at another school and came back because he liked the school.

“I also find that the district is willing to revere new ideas as well,” he said.

Mr Rivera grew up in El Salvador, and came to Connecticut when he was the recipient of the Central American Fulbright Scholarship. Mr Rivera said he was very active in school, and said he shares his past experience with his students.

“Education has played a big component in my life,” he said, “but you also have to complete the whole educational part by participating in extracurricular activities.”

The importance of learning a foreign language, he said, is something he also shares with his students. He learned English while in high school, and part of his ability to learn the language came from not being afraid to practice it, he said.

“If I had been shy about practicing my English, I think it would have worked against me in the process of applying for the scholarship,” said Mr Rivera. “So I always tell them that they should be able to take advantage of every opportunity that is provided by a school.”

He also tells students it is important to be informed of what is happening around the world because when they graduate from Newtown High School and begin to attend college, they will be exposed to other cultures and diversity.

“The more you know about other languages and other cultures it will definitely open doors,” he said.

Mr Rivera said he is excited and honored to be a part of changes that are happening at the high school.

“And I am happy to be a part of that over the next few years,” he said.