By Jarret Liotta
UPDATE The Board of Education (BOE) tonight approved the appointment of veteran educator Stafford W. Thomas, Jr. as the next principal of Staples High School.
Stafford Thomas, Jr: comes from Trumbull. Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
He succeeds James D’Amico who announced in March his intention to resign July 1 after three years to become principal of his hometown high school, New Fairfield High School.
Since 2011, Thomas has served as principal of Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull, which, in 2018-2019 was honored as Connecticut Middle School of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS).
“I’m obviously very excited,” Thomas told the board. “This is both a great privilege and an honor to be named principal of Staples High School.”
In his recommendation of Thomas, Superintendent of School David Abbey referenced Tuesday’s Staples graduation ceremony, where he said he found himself thinking, “’What an awesome responsibility the next principal of Staples High School will have,’ and I was happy about that because I knew who was coming forward.”
Abby said the consultant received 40 completed applications for the position, with John Bayers, director of human resources, and Anthony Buono, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, eventually identifying the six top candidates.
Ultimately, a 16-person team that included parents, high school teachers, administrators, one student, and two BOE members—Candice Savin and Jeannie Smith—unanimously recommended Thomas for the post.
Thomas told the BOE that a main part of his role would be “augmenting the already legendary status and reputation that Staples High School has,” after which he said referenced the school fight song.
“Go Wreckers!” he said, receiving applause from those in attendance.
Stafford Thomas and John Bayers, director of human resources, watch Superintendent of Schools David Abbey sign Thomas’s contract after unanimous approval by the Board of Education.. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
Bayers then presented Thomas with a Staples baseball cap.
Directly after being approved by the BOE, Thomas went next door with Abbey and Bayers to sign his contracts, at which time he received congratulations from about a dozen Staples staffers. He chatted with them briefly, telling them, “My door with always be open.”
Asked afterward what he saw as his immediate priorities, Thomas said, “definitely a lot of listening.”
“Coming into a building which has a strong history and reputation, you want to see what makes it work and tick,” he said.
“This is a fine institution,” he said.
Prior to his time in Trumbull, Thomas served as an administrator in Mystic, Connecticut, and Barrington, Rhode Island.
He began his career as a social studies teacher at South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. He has also served as the associate director of policy for the city of Providence, Rhode Island.
He currently serves as an adjunct professor in the graduate school of education at Sacred Heart University where he teaches courses in education law and finance and advanced curriculum.
His professional associations include active membership in the Tri-State Consortium, an organization devoted to evaluating high performing school districts in the Tri-State area, and this coming school year, will serve as a member of the board of directors with CAS.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in psychology from Georgetown University with a Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies from Brown University. Also, he holds a dual degree in law (Juris Doctor) and Educational Administration (M.Ed.) from Boston College.
