New Principal Named for Sunderland Elementary School

Jennifer Turner

SUNDERLAND — The Taconic & Green Regional School District’s board of directors has announced that Jennifer Turner, an educator from Shaftsbury,  has been appointed to serve as Principal of the Sunderland Elementary School. She will replace the current principal, Skyler LaBombard, who will be moving to the BRSU main office inSunderland to serve as the Director of Teaching and Learning for all six schools of the BRSU. The selection was presented to the Board by Jacquelyne Wilson, Superintendent of the Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) at the May 1 T&G Board Meeting. The Taconic and Green Regional School District is the largest District in the BRSU. Turner will assume her new assignment on July 1, 2018.

In making her recommendation to the T&G Board, BRSU Superintendent Wilson pointed out, “We are lucky to have Jennifer in our system. She’s more than ready to move into this position. Sunderland will continue to be in good hands with Jennifer assuming its leadership role.”

Turner’s career in education, leading to her appointment as Sunderland principal, has been a natural evolution. It all started when she was a teenager. “I volunteered to work on the Special Olympics when I was 14 or 15.” Turner recalls, “Working with those inspiring kids was an uplifting experience and drew me into the idea of community service. Once I started down that path, the idea of becoming a teacher was a natural progression.”

After earning a degree in elementary education, Turner spent 16 years as a kindergarten teacher, the final nine at T&G’s Currier Memorial School in Danby, Vt. During the last few years of that tenure, she started and completed work on her Masters in Education at the University of Vermont, with a focus on mathematics.

In 2013, Turner was promoted to a new position: Math Coach for all six schools of the BRSU. In carrying out this new assignment, she worked closely with every BRSU school principal. She witnessed how they collaborated with each other, shared best practices, and worked with teachers, staff, students and communities. Not long ago there was a moment when she said to herself, “Hey, I can do this too!” When the position at Sunderland became available, Turner jumped at the opportunity to move to the next level. “Skyler’s done such a great job making Sunderland Elementary a terrific place for kids and a center of community activity. The job combines education and community service.” Turner points out, “I can’t wait to start.”