CT High School Principal Of The Year Is Bunnell's Nancy Dowling

STRATFORD, CT — Principal Nancy Dowling of Bunnell High School in Stratford has been named High School Principal of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools.

In addition to Dowling, Barbara Silverio of Isabelle M. Pearson School in Winsted was named Elementary School Principal of the Year and Joy Wright of King Philip Middle School in West Hartford was named Middle School Principal of the Year, according to a news release from the association. Dowling, Silverio and Wright will be honored by the association at the “Celebration of Distinguished Administrators” to be held Nov. 5 in Portland.

Dowling was nominated for the award by Bunnell Assistant Principal Frank Tatto and selected as the winner due to her passionate and purposeful leadership and her personal commitment to providing a pathway to success for her students, the news release said.

"This award recognizes and honors the dedication and excellence of the entire staff of Bunnell High School, the effort and achievement of our students, and the support and partnership of our families,” Dowling said in the news release.

Dowling is a Bunnell alumna and considers herself the mother of the Bunnell family, the news release said. She is a fixture in the halls and classrooms of the school, which serves more than 1,000 students, and she also attends Bunnell plays, concerts and sport events.

“Nothing is ever about Nancy. It’s about Bunnell,” parent Judy Gribb said in the news release. “She embodies Bunnell. Bunnell is her identity; it’s her life. Her dedication is unmatched. And she does everything she can to make it the best it can be.”

Dowling values shared decision-making and invites teachers, support staff, parents, students, and community members alike to share responsibility for leading the school towards improvement, according to the news release. One of her proudest accomplishments is the establishment of the Bunnell Faculty Council, which brings together a diverse cross section of staff to share concerns, brainstorm solutions and explore ways to improve the school.

“Nancy continues to empower all stakeholders to get involved at the ground level to shape the policies that are the backbone for our school,” Assistant Principal Chris Koch, a former Assistant Principal of the Year, said in the news release.

Dowling is leading Bunnell in implementing a mastery-based learning model as a means to promote self-directed learning and student acquisition of 21st century skills. Bunnell’s class of 2020 has a 98 percent graduation rate and a 20-point increase in SAT scores. In 2019, for the first time in school history, Bunnell was recognized by U.S. News and World Report among the Best High Schools in the U.S. The University of Connecticut named Bunnell among the top 10 high schools in Connecticut in the UCONN Early College Experience program.

Dowling will represent Connecticut in the National Principal of the Year Award Program sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. She will compete for the national honor along with principals of the year from each of the other 49 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Department of State Office of Overseas Schools. Conditions allowing, NASSP will recognize all state principals of the year Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C.