Joshua Eaton Welcomes New Principal

Joshua Eaton Elementary School's new principal jumped out of an airplane this summer, and said the daredevil experience may have been as frightening as taking on her new role.

"It's been a year of risk-taking all around," said Interim Principal Karen Feeney.

While students at Joshua Eaton may be unaware of Feeney's experiment with creative falling, most of them know her from the six years she spent as a first grade teacher in the building.

Artifacts from her recent days as a teacher litter her new office. Pens given to her by students jut from a penholder on her desk; an autographed photo of Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, another gift from a student, stands atop a bookshelf, and penguins stand scattered over every available surface. Her class, she said, had a penguin as a mascot.

She ascended to her new position after the death of Superintendent Patrick A. Schettini triggered a bout of administrative shuffling. Then-assistant superintendent John Doherty took over Schettini's position and promoted Patty de Garavilla, who had been Eaton's principal, to the role of assistant superintendent.

The reorganization came late in the year, Feeney said, and left the district with too little time to complete a full search for an administrator to replace Garavilla. To cover the school for the immediate future, the administration approached Feeney to step up as interim principal.

Feeney said she aims to remove "interim" from her title by the end of year, and "has a feeling" that she'll succeed. Before the administration tapped her to lead the school, she had completed a certificate in school administration through Salem State University and completed her internship at Joshua Eaton. Some time around March, she said, the administration will reflect on how Feeney has performed leading the school.

The administration and her former peers have supported her in her transition, she said. So far, she has adjusted better than she expected to working during the summer. However, she wasn't prepared for all aspects of her job. The number of interruptions she deals with in a day has surprised her.

"I've learned very quickly that you never get out of the building on time," she said.

Feeney said she has no ambitions for higher positions within the district. She likes managing a building, she said, but doesn't see herself enjoying management across several schools.

She said she earned her nurturing instinct from her "typical Italian family." She grew up in Winthrop as the youngest daughter, youngest grand-daughter and youngest cousin. Being the youngest, she was the subject of a lot of nurturing. She said she now returns the favor by nurturing a school of 400 children.

When she's not running Joshua Eaton or throwing herself out of airplanes, Feeney said she enjoys shopping, running and going to the gym.