Westmere Elementary School will be welcoming a new principal next year Beth Bini, who said her roots have always been in Guilderland.
She was approved for the position at the Guilderland Board of Education’s Tuesday, April 7, meeting.
Bini taught in Guilderland for 16 years at Altamont Elementary School before earning an administrative degree and accepting a position as assistant principal at Jefferson Elementary School in the Schalmont Central School District in Rotterdam.
It’s kind of a homecoming,` Bini said. `It’s very exciting.`
Superintendent John McGuire said he is happy to have Bini on board.
`We are extremely pleased to welcome Beth back to the district,` said McGuire in a written statement. `Her knowledge, leadership experience and enthusiastic commitment will be great assets to the students, parents and staff of Westmere Elementary School and the greater school community.`
Bini said she has gained valuable experience as a teacher in the district, and that will help her going forward.
Bini is a graduate of Geneseo State College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, and of the University at Albany, where she completed a master’s degree in reading. She received her administrative certification from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, according to information from the district.
She is a member of several professional organizations including the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Capital District Association of Women Administrators, and serves as the policy council chairperson for Schenectady County Head Start, according to the district.
`I know a lot about the curriculum and know a lot about the program,` she said of her experience in Guilderland.
She said the construction projects at the school, in addition to the chance that full-day kindergarten will be instated, will provide hard work on her and her colleagues’ part.
`There are initiatives under way that will make it challenging,` Bini said.
She is said it will be a `very interesting summer,` if full-day kindergarten passes. She said she will need to work with the other principals and personnel in the district to come up with staffing requirements, room layout and a curriculum plan.
She said it would be a challenge to `make it all happen in such a short time.`
Bini said she is looking forward to working collaboratively with the staff at Westmere, and she is anxious to learn from the experienced teachers there as well.
`I want to go in there and listen and learn from the culture that’s already there,` she said.
She said retiring principal Deborah Drumm left a great legacy behind. Westemere Elementary School has won federal recognition as a Blue Ribbon school.
`There are big shoes to fill,` Bini said.
Drumm retires at the end of this school year, and Bini begins administrative duties in July. “