CAVENDISH, Vt. – Amy Bohren has been hired as the new principal for Cavendish Town Elementary School.
Moving to Vermont from Northern California, she brings 22 years of experience with her, the last seven years having been in educational administration. She has served as Director of Special Programs for a small district (small for California, that is) covering five elementary schools and two middle schools, and has subsequently overseen numerous state and federal budgets. She has also served as principal for a summer program, as a Director of Independent Study functioning as a liaison between general education and special education, supervised a hybrid educational model that led 29 teachers and included 850 families, mentored new administrators including principals in training, served as an associate principal, served as an instructional coach, and performed in many other roles including seventh and eighth grade literature teacher. Her complete resume can be found on the TRSU website.
“I am so honored to have been chosen as the next Cavendish Town Elementary School Principal. I love the expression that individually we are one drop but together we are an ocean. I can’t wait to work collaboratively with the talented teachers, students, staff, and overall community of Cavendish to do great things for our students! The future holds so many possibilities for our children, I can’t wait to see them all grow and thrive!” Bohren said.
Bohren was one of two candidates that participated in a hybrid forum on Tuesday, March. 1 at CTES for school stakeholders including CTES parents, community members, Two Rivers Supervisory Union staff, teachers, and Green Mountain Unified School District Board members. The candidates answered questions for over an hour to both an in-person audience and separately to those tuning in via Zoom, covering topics ranging from experience, leadership style, budget management, social and emotional plans for students, vision for CTES, entry plan for learning about teachers and students, and conflict resolution. Participants were encouraged to provide their feedback on both candidates through an online survey, by five o’clock of the following day.
During the Zoom interview, Bohren shared several highlights of what will be a part of her vision for CTES. She outlined her plan for the school to become the community event hub led by student activities focused on joy and showcasing a richness of events and activities. She talked of fostering social and emotional wellbeing of students by incorporating bilateral movement to calm heartrate, as well as other trauma-informed practices. She spoke about including restorative justice practices to tackle discipline issues saying they were less punitive and more empathetic in nature. She also described her leadership style as both collaborative and servant based, where she would work closely with and include staff as part of the decision-making process; where no task was too big or too small; and that she would not be afraid to make top down decisions when necessary.
The following evening, Bohren, along with fellow candidate Joanna Blane, were interviewed in executive session by the GMUSD board for the position, resulting in their recommendation to offer the position to Bohren.
TRSU Superintendent Lauren Fierman praised the new principal when she confirmed Bohren’s appointment saying, “The TRSU is happy to welcome Amy Bohren to our leadership team. She brings a wealth of experience and a clear passion for working with students.”
Bohren will begin her position on July 1, 2022.