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Clarksburg School Selects New Principal
By Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
07:17PM / Thursday, February 26, 2015
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Tara Barnes of Williamstown has accepted the position of principal of Clarksburg School.

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — A Baltimore transplant has been selected as the new principal at Clarksburg School.

Tara Barnes of Williamstown is expected to start July 1. She replaces Linda Reardon who retired last fall; former Principal Karen Gallese has stepped in as interim.

School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Levanos said the committee was unanimous in its decision after intervewing Barnes on Tuesday night.

Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Lev, who made the final decision, said, "I think her energy, optimism, great math background, and a strong sense of understanding [are] what students need to succeed in today's world."

And the picture book that Barnes passed out to demonstrate her journey from Baltimore to the Berkshires was a hit with the dozen or so teachers and parents who attended the interviews.

Barnes was one of two candidates interviewed by the committee and Lev; the other was Tracy Lyon, an experienced administrator who has worked in the Ware, Mohawk Regional and Gateway districts. A third candidate withdrew her name from consideration.

During her interview, Barnes focused on collaboration, parental involvement, allowing teachers to take the lead in efforts and, occasionally, doing "silly things" like teacher Olympics to keep the team on track.

The school is both a community and an entity that provides a valuable service to its clients, she said. "Our clients are our students so we have to serve the needs of the families in our community and we have to know what their needs are."

Her experience working in inner-city public schools taught her to "assume the best" in everyone, Barnes said, including the kids who threw her roadblocks along the way.

"This is the job you signed up for and it's not going to be easy," she said. "I assume the best in every child I meet and every parent ... parents are always doing their best."

The key is developing a school culture that promotes a love of learning by understanding where each child is coming from and helping them overcome obstacles.

"Once you meet them where they are, you have to move them to where you want them to go."

The measure of a successful school, said Barnes, is children are happy, parents are happy .

"We need to make sure they have the skills, but the happiness can't be compromised," she said. She also understood the school's desire to develop a preschool program, noting "if you're going to take children away from their families at a very young age [the program] has to be good."

Barnes was most recently a math coach in the North Adams Public Schools. A graduate of Pennsylvania State and McDaniel College, she received her degree in educational administration and supervision from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. Her Massachusetts administrator license is pending and Lev did not anticipate any problems.

She taught English for a couple years in Japan before entering the Baltimore Public School System as a teacher and later professional development coordinator and dean of instruction.

In between, she took some time off for family but ended up developing a districtwide Math Works program that began with a few teachers getting together to talk about math.

"Great teachers will find ways to learn more," she said. Math Works grew to 200 teachers spending their Thursday nights talking about teaching. "It was motivational and inspirational for people to come and talk with colleagues."

She envisions team efforts along those lines in Clarksburg by first finding out how the school operates and what motivates the staff.  

"I'm big on collaboration ... if you're doing something well, tell me how to do it," she said. "Everybody wants to go to work in a place they want to be ... create opportunities for people to have times to come together to make them feel good."

Barnes said her family came to the Berkshires looking for a close-knit community for her four children, especially her son with Down syndrome, to grow up in. Her experience as a mother of a special needs child and in working with children with emotional needs has made her cognizant of the necessity to bring parents and professionals together to create a successful pathway for each child.

She envisioned herself greeting children at the school entrance every morning, bidding them goodbye every day and, hopefully, getting to see them in the classroom in between.

"I imagine I might have to wear several hats in the course of the day," she said, to laughter from the audience.

Levanos noted that Clarksburg children often go on to do very well at local high schools. "We're looking for the best we can get," he said. "You have a lot of enthusiasm."

"I push things beyond sometimes because it's for our kids," said Barnes. "If we're not doing the best for our kids, than what are we doing?"

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