Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2015 | Page 20

Middle School Principal Tiffany Regan Robert ’00 (center) stands with her team, the staff of the Thornton Academy Middle School. Principal Tiffany Regan Robert ’00 reflects on the Middle School’s first ten years of building “a climate of respect” and celebrates the start of the next decade. Tiffany Regan Robert ’00 joined Thornton Academy Middle School’s faculty the first year it was founded. As a full-time 6th grade teacher, little did she know that four years later she would end up leading the new school as Principal for most of its first decade. that I could apply what I was learning as a classroom teacher to my leadership role. I said ‘yes’ because I was passionate about making a difference, about having an impact on student experience by working with the teachers. I try to be my staff ’s biggest cheerleader; I help them do the best they can “Over the years, student diversity at the Middle School has with their students. For increased. Now, in addition to Arundel students, we serve example, I help teachers—if students from Saco, Dayton, Scarborough, South Portland and the five or six strategies Portland. Even though the Arundel contract is ending, we will that they normally use continue to be a choice for Arundel families. We were built as aren’t working—to identify additional instructional their school and we will continue to serve them. The school strategies that work best for is thriving and we’ve never been positioned better. That will particular students. “I had completed my bachelor’s at the University of MaineFarmington with a certification in elementary education when a mentor continue.” suggested that I enroll in the Masters in “We all know how much Education Leadership society is emphasizing program at the University of Southern Maine. I loved standardized testing right now. I help guide the teachers to Thornton Academy and the Middle School already. find a middle ground with respect to this testing. At Thornton Then, former Headmaster Carl Stasio offered me the Academy, we don’t want to ‘teach to the test,’ but we do find opportunity to become Principal. Not in a million years value in saying ‘what can we learn from these test results?’ I did I expect to work as an administrator. But I found like having those conversations with staff. 20