Mary ByrneWhile much change is expected this school year at Belmont’s Chenery Upper Elementary School (CUE), the new leader will be familiar to many.
Previous Stories
Principal Laura Smith, who worked for the last year in the district as the curriculum coordinator for English language arts and social studies, took over the principalship this summer.
“When I joined the staff last year, we had an interim principal, and one of the things I learned pretty quickly from the staff was that there has been a lot of administrative turnover,” she said. “That’s made an impact on teachers. So when the opportunity came up for the principalship, I thought it was something I could offer to this community to provide even more stability for them.”
Before serving as curriculum coordinator, a role which included the responsibilities of designing professional learning experiences for teachers, supporting them in their learning and their professional goals, and supporting students in the classroom, Smith was a building-based literacy coach at the Putnam Avenue Upper School in Cambridge. Before that, she served as a district literacy coach in Cambridge. She has worked in administrative positions for roughly 15 years, and while this will be her first year as a principal, she has held the title of assistant principal.
“I think it’s pretty special to be the principal of this building in its new design,” she said. “I keep saying it’s the inaugural year. It’s a pretty special opportunity.”
Smith joined the leadership team at the CUE as it prepared to transition from a middle school to an elementary school, hosting fourth–, fifth–, and sixth-grade students. The seventh grade has already moved to the new middle school on Concord Avenue (Belmont Middle School), and the fourth-grade level joined the CUE this fall.
“What will be our sixth-grade class will be the only students returning,” she said. “We did some work last year helping to build our fifth graders at the time as leaders. They had to apply and interview to be tour guides. Eighty of them were tour guides for our eight groups of tours that came. … It was sort of their first step in taking ownership, in terms of ‘I’m going to be at the top of the school.’”
Smith said that by the time she joined the CUE staff, she had already developed strong working relationships with half of the fifth-grade team.
“I’m so excited to see the students,” she said. “We’re going to have music on the plaza every morning to get our day started on the right note.”
She’s also excited about the building’s refresh this summer.
“The building has been painted and refreshed, and it’s sparkling and brand new – we have furniture and new rugs,” she said. “It’s really been outfitted for younger students. The physical refresh is so uplifting for everyone who walks in. To have a space where kids can come and are happy to be here is really exciting for Chenery.”
