NPS turnover continues with three administrative exits, bevy of new hires

NORWALK, Conn. — A trio of Norwalk Public Schools administrators have quietly left the district. Two of their resignations are on Tuesday’s Board of Education agenda, weeks after their exit. The other is not.

The agenda also includes 69 appointments, including Beth Furnari as P-Tech assistant principal. Victor Black was named P-Tech principal in July.

The three former administrators:

• Janine Goss left her position here as Education Administrator of Humanities K-12 in mid-August to become Fairfield Public Schools Director of Elementary Education and PK-12 Literacy. She was hired in 2014 under then-Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Manny Rivera as a Curriculum and Instruction Site Director (CISD). Her resignation was effective Aug. 16, according to Tuesday’s agenda.
• Tina Henckle was NPS Education Administrator for School Support and Improvement for STEM (K-12). Henckle was hired in October 2018 to direct STEM, under then-Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski. Her resignation was effective Sept. 9, according to Tuesday’s agenda. She left to become Weston Public Schools Assistant Superintendent.
• Jennifer Katona was NPS Grants Manager. She was hired in September 2019 as visual and performance arts leader, under the Adamowski administration, and was reassigned to grants last year under Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella. Katona’s LinkedIn page shows she left in August to be Educational Theater Association Executive Director.

NancyOnNorwalk learned they had left in September.

On Sept. 29, Niccolo Dua, NPS Director of Communications and Marketing said, “Tina, Janine and Jennifer were exemplary colleagues and accepted opportunities that enabled them to further develop their careers.  We were supportive of their decision and wished them well.  These changes occurred after the start of the school year and will be included in the October Business Agenda.”

The September Business Meeting was Sept. 6. Katona and Goss left before then.

Goss and Henckle are on Tuesday’s agenda. Katona’s resignation is not on Tuesday’s agenda and was not on the September agenda.

NoN also heard an allegation that NPS Director of Human Resources Lissette Colón was no longer employed by NPS’ HR department.

Colón’s LinkedIn Page describes her as an “HR Executive – Fairfield, CT.” Under experience, she states “Human Resources Management School Districts” since August 2020.

Dua, on Sept. 29, wrote, “Lissette Colón is still the Director of Human Resources.”

Tuesday’s agenda also includes 18 teacher resignations and one teacher retirement, 10 of them dating to August. One counselor and one psychologist have resigned.

The agenda includes 53 teacher appointments, four counselor appointments, three Speech & Language Pathologists, two literacy coaches, one math coach, two social workers and one psychologist. Najla Staggers is being appointed Director of Grants at a $130,000 a year salary and Katia Gil is being named multi-lingual learner (MLL) supervisor at the Family Center at a $120,000 a year salary.

Appointments on the Sept. 6 agenda include 43 teachers, one counselor, five Library Media Specialists, nine Speech & Language Pathologists, two math coaches, five social workers and a director of bands for Roton Middle School. Alyssa Canonico was named Assistant Education Administrator for Multilingual Learners and World Languages, Central Office, at a salary of $165,111. Rachel Albone was named out of district coordinator with a $110,000 salary.

There were 27 teacher resignations on the Sept. 6 agenda, as well as three SLPs, two psychologists, two math coaches and three literacy coaches. Silvermine Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Chahine and Kendall Elementary School Assistant Principal Sarah Carmody resigned.