Teacher moves up at Guilford High
By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff0
July 4, 2008
GUILFORD – The Board of Education has hired Marc Guarino to fill the high school’s assistant principal position.
Guarino, who has worked as a social studies teacher and department head at Guilford High School since 1997, began his new role Tuesday after being appointed by the school board Monday night.
He replaced former Assistant Principal Ian Neviaser, who left at the end of the school year to become principal of Valley Regional High School in Deep River.
Superintendent of Schools Thomas Forcella said that Guarino was one of 55 applicants for the position. An interview committee met with seven of them, and Forcella and Assistant Superintendent Anne Keene interviewed two finalists before making a recommendation to the school board.
Forcella said that Guarino’s work as head of the social studies department made him the strongest candidate.
“He’s really been committed to our new initiatives,” Forcella said. “He’s demonstrated outstanding leadership with the social studies department, which has made great strides and really focused on student effort and rigor in their curriculum.”
Guarino could not be reached at the high school Tuesday.
He graduated from Stonehill College in Massachusetts in 1993, Forcella said, and worked in Durham for one year before starting at Guilford High School in 1997. His wife is a teacher at Calvin Leete School.
The new assistant principal will earn about $114,000 in the 2008-09 school year, according to the school district.
Board of Education Chairman William Bloss said that Guarino demonstrated enthusiasm about the district’s efforts toward creating “professional learning communities,” a workplace model that encourages collaboration among teachers and departments.
“He’s got an outstanding record of achievement as the department head and as a teacher,” Bloss said. “We think that Mr. Guarino has got that passion for learning and helping improve instruction that is going to help move us forward.”
Forcella said that the assistant principal’s role will encompass curriculum development and improving instruction, instead of focusing on discipline. Guilford High School has two deans who deal with disciplinary issues.
Bloss said he hopes that Guarino will be “actively involved inside classrooms.”
“I think our expectation is that he is going to be the kind of lead administrator on implementing the professional learning communities model at the high school,” Bloss said.