BRUNSWICK

The first of three finalists in Brunswick High School’s search for a new principal met with her potential charges and peers Monday.

Shanna Crofton, a history teacher and head of secondary education at the Oberoi International School in Mumbai, India, spent several hours touring Brunswick High School and fielding questions from both public and faculty.

A native of Maine and Nova Scotia, Crofton obtained a B.A. from Bowdoin College in 2001 and postgraduate degrees in education and management from University of New England and Vermont’s SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro.

She has worked at the Oberoi school in India since January 2012.

Crofton advocates for “diversification of resources within the curriculum,” she said, “because if your curriculum is not diverse, the outcome (of the education) is going to be local, when it needs to be global.”

If hired, she said her other goals for Brunswick include increasing one-onone coaching and mentoring for students who need it.

“Differentiation is important,” Crofton said during an extensive question-andanswer period Monday.

She complimented Brunswick’s curriculum, saying that it offered more than she expected from a public school and is competitive with many private schools.

“The reality is that budget cuts are not going to go away, and we’ll need to figure out how to keep programs that are working,” Crofton said.

“The students will define the culture of the school. We can put things into place, but ultimately they’ll be the ones who take charge.”

Two other search finalists will tour the school and meet with faculty and students today and Thursday. Interview committee members then will make a recommendation to District Superintendent Paul Perzanoski, who will make his recommendation to the full school board the following week.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com

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