Published: 2/16/2023 12:45:18 PM
NORTHAMPTON — John F. Kennedy Middle School now has a permanent principal at its helm, one who is already familiar with students and staff.
Lauren Marien, appointed the interim principal last October following the departure of Desmond Caldwell, has been named as the school’s new permanent principal. Marien beat out four other candidates who applied to the position, according to a letter sent out by Interim Superintendent Jannell Pearson-Campbell.
“Interim Principal Lauren Marien rose to the top by understanding the complex landscape of JFK Middle School and working alongside the elementary schools and the Northampton High School,” Pearson-Campbell wrote.
A veteran educator with over 20 years of experience, Marien’s first job in Massachusetts after moving from New York in 2006 was in the Northampton Public School system as an itinerant teacher for the deaf. She then worked in public schools in other western Massachusetts cities and towns such as Springfield, Montague and Holyoke.
Prior to becoming interim principal at JFK, Marien worked as an assistant principal in Medway Middle School, with other previous stints as an assistant principal in public school systems in Brookline and Worcester.
“When I started in October, the title was interim, but I started off with some lofty goals,” said Marien in an interview with the Gazette. “I don’t think there’s really anything that I’m going to change because of the title change. I think we’re going to continue with the trajectory of what we’ve been doing.”
Some of Marien’s ongoing goals include creating a data team to identify learning gaps in students, and providing anti-bias and anti-racism training. Marien credited two assistant principals, Vincent Napoli and Keddie Loughrey, for helping to move her plans forward.
“I would have not wanted to stay nor would I have been able to start any changes without them,” she said. “From the get go it was just a good administrative team, and I’m just really thrilled and happy that I can keep working with my admin team and everybody else at JFK.”
In an upcoming PTO meeting to be held on March 1, Marien plans to discuss a new hate speech policy she plans to roll out, hosting engineers from aerospace company L3Harris to discuss their career field with students, and discussing an upcoming MCAS informational meeting.
Marien’s appointment is another step in the school district’s quest to fill interim positions with permanent roles. Northampton High School filled its principal vacancy in December with the appointment of William Wehrli, while. Carol Ruyffelaert remains the interim principal at Bridge Street School.
Meantime, a search committee has been formed to find a permanent superintendent for the district.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.