Region 13 Board of Education Appoints a New Superintendent

The Board of Education voted Wednesday evening to hire Kathryn Veronesi as the new superintendent of schools for the Region 13 district, board Chairman Kerrie Flanagan confirmed with Patch.

Veronesi is a former acting school superintendent in Marlborough, a position she has been serving since last June. The board selected her out of a pool of 21 candidates following a four-month search.

She previously served as an interim school superintendent in Hebron and a principal of Gilead Hill School in Hebron for six years. Prior to that she was an assistant middle school teacher in Plainville.

Veronesi will replace Susan Vaccaro who stepped down as school chief in June. Vaccaro's outgoing salary was just above $160,000.

Click here to see a photo of Veronesi, courtesy of Middletown Press reporter Michael Lyle.

Here's a full press release from board Chairman Kerri Flanagan:

Durham, CT – The Regional School District 13 Board of Education has appointed Kathryn Y. Veronesi, Ed.D. as the new superintendent of schools for the District. Dr. Veronesi comes to Region 13 after having served as the Acting Superintendent in Hebron, CT from mid-December 2012 through mid-July 2013. Prior to being appointed Acting Superintendent in Hebron, Dr. Veronesi had served in the position of principal of the Gilead Hill School in Hebron, CT for six years.

Dr. Veronesi was selected from a pool of twenty-one candidates, six of whom were interviewed. Throughout the process, the Board of Education relied heavily on the feedback gathered in the RSD13 Community Profile Assessment Report and developed through focus group input and online survey research in August and September.

“On behalf of the Board of Education, I am excited to introduce Dr. Kathryn Veronesi to our District. After reviewing the applications, conducting extensive interview sessions and soliciting feedback from over 80 participants from both the school and the extended community, the Board is confident that Dr. Veronesi brings the leadership, personal characteristics and educational background necessary to continue to enrich our educational programs and our overall student experiences here in RSD13,” stated Kerrie Flanagan, Chair of the Region #13 Board of Education.

“After beginning her career as a special education teacher, Kathryn pursued a traditional career path, having served over the past 13 years in administrative positions including central office administration, over 10 years as building assistant principal and principal and a short interim role as superintendent of schools.  With over 8 years of teaching at the high school level  followed by 20 years of teaching and administrative work in both elementary and middle school education, Kathryn has a broad range of experiences at every level of the educational spectrum to draw from as she leads our District into the future.”

Veronesi is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University and Clark University in Massachusetts. She received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Superintendent Certification at Central Connecticut State University in 2012. Dr. Veronesi also earned a Sixth-Year Educational Leadership certificate in 2002, a Master’s of Science in Special Education in 1998, and a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology and a minor in English.

Dr. Veronesi began her career as a high school special education teacher at Becket Academy in East Haddam in 1983. She continued her teaching career in East Haddam at Hale-Ray High School and accepted the position of special education coordinator in East Haddam when she returned to Becket Academy in 1988. Dr. Veronesi also taught at Vinal Regional Technical School in Middletown prior to moving on to the Cheshire Public Schools where she served as an educational diagnostician and teacher beginning in 1994. After 8 years in the Cheshire Public School system, Dr. Veronesi was appointed to the position of assistant principal of the Plainville Middle School in 2001 and became the principal at Gilead Hill School in Hebron in 2006. She was appointed acting superintendent of Hebron Public Schools in 2012. Kathryn will be leaving the position of interim principal at Elmer Thienes-Mary Hall School in Marlborough, CT to assume her role in Regional School District 13.

Veronesi is a member of the Harvard Leadership Institute, the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the New England Association of School Principals and the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS). Dr. Veronesi’s school was a finalist in the CAS Elementary School of the Year program in 2011 and she was a finalist in the 2010 Connecticut National Distinguished Principal program.  She also serves as the chairman and board member of the Wheeler YMCA in Plainville and was chosen as Teacher of the Year for the Cheshire Public Schools in 1999-2000.

“I am proud to have been selected for this important role,” stated Kathryn Veronesi upon learning she had been selected for the Regional School District 13 superintendent position. “Regional School District 13 is a special community of dedicated educators and I am confident that we will continue to do great things for students. It is evident to me that this is a school district within a community where supporting education is a priority. I am thrilled to be here.”

Dr. Veronesi will serve as Regional School District 13’s superintendent beginning January 16, 2014. C.E.S Executive Search Services coordinated the Board of Education’s search for Regional School District 13’s new school superintendent.

Editor's Note: We incorrectly stated in the initial parts of this story that Veronesi was recently the interim superintendent in Hebron. Her most recent position was interim superintendent in Marlborough, although she did serve in Hebron from December 2012 to June 2013.