New leaders take the helm of Seabrook Elementary and Middle School
SEABROOK — After a school year that saw Seabrook Elementary School’s principal and assistant principal leave for other districts, a new leadership team is ready, willing and excited to take the reins.
Hired last summer as Seabrook Elementary School’s acting assistant principal, Bryan Belanger soon took on the acting principal’s job when former principal Stephanie Lafreniere resigned for an administrative position in Hudson.
No stranger to Seabrook schools, Belanger spent years working in the district, beginning in 2006 when he served as SAU 21's technical systems administrator. He became Seabrook Middle School’s assistant principal for curriculum and integration in 2009, leaving in 2014 to spend a year as interim principal at the elementary school when former principal Jenny Mosca left.
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Since then, Belanger’s experience includes principalships at Manchester’s Parker-Varney Elementary School and Lamprey River Elementary School in Raymond. He’s also worked at Southern New Hampshire University as an adjunct professor and director of certification and licensure.
Belanger has a bachelor’s in information systems technology from Granite State College, a master's in educational leadership from the University of New England and a master's in character education from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
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Belanger said he signed a contract to become Seabrook Elementary School’s principal in January, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
“I want people to know that I love Seabrook,” he said. “I enjoy coming to work every day. And I can’t wait to see how far we can go.”
Along with dealing with the usual challenges of running an elementary school of about 400 students, Belanger faced the hurdles of the COVID-19 pandemic. Retired school administrator Kathryn Bates joined him as interim assistant principal, he said, but she’s leaving at the end of the school year.
He said they had 35 candidates apply for the assistant principal's job and they interviewed 11. Timothy Dow, of Manchester, rose to the top and received the nod from the School Board, signing a contract to be SES’s new assistant principal starting July 1, Belanger said.
Dow wrote an impressive application letter, Belanger said, telling the search committee that “education has been my passion for as long as I can remember.”
“He has lots of energy; it was impressive,” Belanger said of Dow, who currently works in Manchester School District. “… He has a lot of training in social and emotional education and trauma. One of the things that impressed us is he was in charge of the leadership and behavioral intervention team there.”
According to his resume, Dow is a graduate of Keene State College with a degree in elementary education and psychology, as well as a master's in educational administration from Grand Canyon University of Arizona.
“He spent five years as a classroom teacher,” Belanger said.
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Presently, Dow is the assistant principal at Manchester’s Beech Street Elementary School, and also spent time as the school district’s program director for adult and community education.
In his letter, Dow expressed his exhilaration at working with elementary schoolchildren.
“The energy, life and love of learning that only comes from working in an elementary school has made coming to work exciting every day,” he wrote. “As we look to create deeper learning experiences for our students, I know that I can positively impact this work by supporting, empowering and learning alongside our educators.”
That philosophy meshes well with other educational professionals at SES, Belanger said.
“Every single teacher in this building made it through the pandemic and they’re so resilient,” Belanger said. “They rally every day to support our students.”
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Jaime Parsons named new Seabrook Middle School principal
Jaime Parsons has been named the new principal of Seabrook Middle School.
Parsons is currently the assistant principal at Veteran's Memorial Middle School in Melrose, Massachusetts, where he has served for the last nine years. Prior to beginning his administrative career, Parsons served as a high school science teacher at Triton Regional High School in Byfield, Massachusetts.
Parsons holds a master of arts degree in teaching from Gordon College and earned his bachelor of science degree from Framingham State College.
Parsons is working with Principal Erin Milbury on the transition and will begin his work at Seabrook Middle School on July 1. Milbury is leaving to take over as principal at Hampstead Middle School.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: New leaders take the helm of Seabrook NH Elementary School and Middle School
