Nayatt School Principal Settles In

Gail Keith, the new principal at Nayatt School, has held a variety of different positions as an educator over the last 20 years.

Her most recent position as a principal in the Mount Desert Island School System in Bar Harbor, Maine, included catching a boat to a small offshore school each day. She also served as principal at a school on the mainland.

Keith left her husband and two of her four children who still live at home in Maine for several weeks while she made the move to Barrington during the last week of July. Two of her children are in college; a seven-year-old son with special needs and an older child live at home. Her husband is retiring from the Air Force at the end of this year after 23 years of service.

Part of the allure of her new job was the opportunity to be in a coastal community that has a great school system, with better access to resources within the community for her youngest child, she said.

Keith sees her new position as the perfect blend of challenge and joy.

“As an educator and administrator, I've had the opportunity over the last twenty years to develop a working model of how great schools run,” said Keith.

She said she is looking forward to the chance to implement some of the things she's learned.

“It's all just theory until you get to watch the learning happen,” she said. “As an administrator, we're trained to evaluate the teaching, but you need to look for the learning. It's all over the place. And when you see it, it's a wonderful thing!”

Keith was full of enthusiasm and appreciation for her staff, who threw her a welcome party during her first week at Nayatt.

“The teachers here are amazing, and (school secretaries) Brenda and Emma are off the charts,” she said.

“I've had so much support from the PTO and the other elementary school principals as well," said Keith. "Everyone has been so welcoming."

The new principal said she's most looking forward to the arrival of the students, and she was very excited to “be back on the floor again.”

“This position is the perfect combination of a personal and professional dream,” said Keith.

“It's an incredible thing to be able to work in a wonderful school and live in a wonderful community,” she enthused. “I'm delighted and over the moon!”