New Principal Appointed At Stamford's Turn Of River Middle School

STAMFORD, CT — Superintendent of Stamford Public Schools Dr. Tamu Lucero announced this week the appointment of a new principal at Turn of River Middle School.

Dr. Mark Bonasera will replace Sherri Prendergast, who has been named director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the school district, according to a news release.

In her new role, Prendergast will oversee development and implementation of PreK-5 curriculum and assessments in all content areas as well as professional learning opportunities in support of high-quality classroom instruction.

Additionally, Sandra Ehlers will be the interim principal at Roxbury Elementary School, and Francesca Sikorski will join her as the interim principal. The appointments are effective immediately.

"Dr. Bonasera is a well-respected educator with more than 20 years of K-12 administrative experience in urban school districts including Stamford, Norwalk, and New York City," said Lucero in an announcement. "Through steady leadership, communication and collaboration, Mark led the transformation of Roxbury Elementary School into the welcoming, safe, and inclusive school community that it is today. We are thrilled that Mark has agreed to return to his secondary school roots as Turn of River’s principal, where I know he will engage all stakeholders to improve the school climate."

Bonasera's appointment comes two weeks after parents madeimpassioned pleas to the Stamford Board of Education to improve the climate at TOR following a school year that saw reports of bullying, fighting and threats.

During a BOE meeting last month, speakers said there had been a "complete breakdown" in trust between parents and Prendergast.

Matt Laskowski, interim associate superintendent of middle schools, presented a plan during the meeting that school officials hope will improve clime at TOR going forward. As part of the plan, a School Climate Committee will be formed and meet at least monthly during the school year.

SPS spokesperson Kathleen Steinberg told Patch via email the TOR principal change came about due to the restructuring in the teaching and learning department, an initiative Chief Academic Officer Amy Beldotti has been working on for several months.

The school district was planning for Prendergast to continue in her role as TOR principal and to continue her work on improving school climate, Steinberg said.

"Sherri expressed interest in the director role, which both Dr. Lucero and Mrs. Beldotti recognized would be a great fit given Sherri’s background and expertise in elementary curriculum and instruction, but district leadership needed to make sure there was an experienced administrator who could be placed at TOR to lead the school community and manage the critically important school climate work," Steinberg added. "Once it was clear that Dr. Bonasera was interested in making the move to TOR, everything fell into place."

Steinberg said Bonasera was hosting voluntary meetings with TOR staff and parents on Tuesday, and he will host the first meeting of the School Climate Committee on Wednesday.

Bonasera began his teaching career as a seventh grade humanities teacher at NYC DOE Intermediate School 74 as part of the Teach for America Corps program, and later taught English Language Arts at both Marta Valle Model High School and Health Opportunities High School (NYC DOE Public School X670), the district said.

He became the ninth grade house leader at Health Opportunities High School in 2002 and was the school’s assistant principal from 2004 to 2009. He was assistant principal at West Rocks Middle School in Norwalk from 2009 to 2011, and he joined SPS as principal at Julia A. Stark Elementary in 2011. Bonasera was appointed principal at Roxbury Elementary in November 2014.

Bonasera has a bachelor's degree in English from Fordham University; a master's in English language and literature from the University of Virginia; and both a Master's and doctorate in educational administration from New York University. He is certified in K-12 Intermediate Administration or Supervision (CT 092).

Lucero said Ehlers is "well-prepared" to take over at Roxbury.

"Sandra’s leadership skills, special education expertise, and strong relationships in the Roxbury School Community make her the natural choice to succeed Dr. Bonasera," Lucero said in a news release.

Lucero also called Sikorski "a passionate educator with a deep knowledge of elementary literacy."

"She continuously seeks new ways to improve instruction and to tailor instruction to a student’s needs, qualities that will help her support Roxbury’s teachers as Assistant Principal," Lucero added.