NORTHFIELD — After allowing an experienced administrator to steady the ship for a year, Northfield Elementary School has tapped another longtime educator as its permanent principal.

Sitting in her new office, Kristen Schreiber gushed about the opportunities available at the school, highlighting the strong community support, the staff and the school’s green spaces that are waiting to be explored through new environmental education initiatives in the district.

An Ashfield resident, Schreiber has two decades of teaching experience at Mark’s Meadow and Crocker Farm elementary schools, Sanderson Academy, and she most recently served as assistant principal Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School. She takes over from James Trill, who signed on for a one-year interim role last year while the Pioneer Valley Regional School District worked out its long-term visioning, which has culminated in the hiring of principals at all three of its schools this year.

“It’s really similar in many senses to Ashfield, and I really like the farming and community aspect,” Schreiber said. “I really fell in love with it when I came to visit. I enjoy the culture that’s here of compassion and caring that I witnessed within the students and teachers, which is exactly what I was looking for.”

Beyond those aspects of the district, Schreiber said she has loved teaching schools’ youngest learners and this job is a chance to get back into an elementary school.

“I love having conversations with kids who are curious and really exploring the world in new ways,” she said. “I enjoy that kind of spark that elementary school kids have in their learning.”

On her approach to building a strong culture at Northfield Elementary, Schreiber said she believes social-emotional learning is a key component of schooling because it teaches children how to communicate, builds strong decision-making skills and creates connections, which are all “key pieces to any school.”

Outside the classroom, she said she wants to continue to cultivate the strong community presence the school has in Northfield. Over the years, Northfield Elementary School has often partnered with the Northfield Senior Center and the Dickinson Memorial Library. Schreiber said she wants to continue and expand on those relationships.

As with any job, getting to know her new coworkers and students is one of Schreiber’s initial priorities. She said the process has been eased by her strong staff, as well as support from the district, Trill and Megan Desmarais, who was the school’s principal for several years before returning to teaching fourth grade.

“I want to find out their passions and how I can support it at this point. Everybody comes at it from a different perspective,” Schreiber said of her students and staff. “I’m really excited to continue some of the work that they’re already doing with the Senior Center, and I’ve already reached out to the Rec Department to see what we’re already doing and what are some new possibilities.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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