New Principal Of John B. Sliney School Named

BRANFORD, CT — The new principal at John B. Sliney School will be Maria Clark, announced Superintendent of Schools Hamlet M. Hernandez on Tuesday. He added that the hiring process was "comprehensive" and that Clark is a "highly qualified educator."

The Board of Education will officially appoint Clark at the May 8 special Board of Education meeting in the lower Media Center of Branford High School.

In a statement Hernandez said, "Clark's body of work in public education is impressive! She comes with a variety of experiences, with the most recent being an assistant principal at
Brennan-Rogers Magnet School, in New Haven where her responsibilities included supervision of the school's Pre-K to 3 campuses, instructional and curricular leadership of these campuses, and serving as the acting principal during a recent transition.

"Prior to her administrative experience, Maria served as a special education teacher, an elementary teacher, and a literacy coach. Maria has worked in both New Haven Public Schools and Guilford Public Schools."

Clark graduated from Boston College with bachelor and master degrees in education and received her advanced degrees, including a doctorate in education, from Southern Connecticut State University.

In a statement, Clark said, “I am extremely honored to be joining Branford Public Schools as the Principal of JBS! I look forward to working with the entire school community -students, staff, parents and community partners. I know that through collaboration and hard work, we can all work together to continue to reach the district’s mission and vision of fostering continuous growth toward excellence in each student, class and school”