Meet Kathryn Crowley, our new Superintendent

Our new Superintendent of Schools, is Mrs. Kathryn Crowley.  Mrs. Crowley comes to us after having served for seven years as the Assistant Superintendent of the Johnston Public Schools.  Prior to that time she had been Principal of Mt. Hope High School, Smithfield High School, and the Gallagher Middle School in Smithfield.

Mrs. Crowley grew up in Providence and attended St. Pius Elementary School and Bayview Academy.  She attended the College of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey where she studied to be a research biologist.  After starting her family, Mrs. Crowley decided to pursue a career in teaching.  She taught math and science in Smithfield’s junior high and high school.  During that time she earned a Masters degree in education administration from Providence College.  She also completed all of the coursework for a doctoral degree at Nova Southeastern University.

Always active in her professional associations, Mrs. Crowley was the first, and so far only, woman chairperson of the RI Interscholastic League, the organization which controls all middle and high school athletics.  She was also President-Elect of the RI Assn. of School Principals when she had to resign after becoming an assistant superintendent.

On the personal side, Mrs. Crowley and her husband, Joe, have four children who are all grown and have successful pursuits (one daughter and one daughter-in-law are teachers).  She has seven grandchildren who she loves to have around (and spoil).  And everyone loves to come to Grammy’s house, which is in Cranston,  because she is a great cook and always has something good to eat.  Now that her schedule allows it, Mrs. Crowley is planning on getting back to the tennis courts.  She also enjoys walking.  And she loves to travel with her husband, and grandchildren, so she has planned several trips.

Mrs. Crowley is really excited to be Superintendent of Schools in Little Compton.  Over the last several years she has been working very closely with teachers in making sure classroom activities are aligned to the curriculum so students are successful in taking the NECAP exams.  She sees curriculum alignment as being critically important for the students of Little Compton.  She also has experience in building and renovation projects so is looking forward to dusting off her hardhat once, everyone hopes, construction begins.

One thing that made Mrs. Crowley really happy with her new job was the location of the Superintendent’s office.  For all true educators, it is the students who make the job worthwhile.   So when Mrs. Crowley found her office was to be right in the middle of all of those classrooms she was overjoyed.  Being waved to or greeted by students just makes her day.

Meet Jean Dunn, our School Nurse

Jean Dunn has been the school nurse at Wilbur & McMahon since 2001.  She was born and raised in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in the heart of the Berkshire Hills.  She had some fun jobs while in high school and college which included being a lifeguard, a ski instructor and an usher at Tanglewood.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Niagara University in Niagara Falls, New York.  It is also where she met her husband Peter.  After graduating from Niagara she moved to Rhode Island and took her first nursing job at Rhode Island Hospital.  She didn’t really like living in Providence and decided to move to Newport. She began working at Newport Hospital in 1980 and continues to work there on the weekends.  Soon after moving to Newport she began graduate school at Salve Regina University and earned a Master of Science degree in Health Services Administration.  Jean has worked in many different positions at Newport Hospital; as a staff nurse in the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Room and in management positions as the Nurse Manager for the Intravenous Therapy and Nursing Reserve Departments and as the Administrative Coordinator, a position she still holds today.

Jean and her husband Peter moved to Tiverton in 1985.  They have three children, twin daughters, Kasey and Meaghan who are currently attending college and a son Peter who is a senior in high school and will be heading off to college this fall.  They have a very goofy 1 ½ year old golden retriever named Otis who provides a tremendous amount of entertainment to the family.  
As most people probably already know (because she talks about it all the time) Jean really likes the winter season and loves to ski.  She misses the Berkshires in the winter but now really loves living near the ocean and being near the beach.  In the summer she kayaks nearly every day off a beach on Ocean Drive in Newport.

Jean enjoys being a nurse and finds it to be very rewarding both professionally and personally.  Being a school nurse in a K-8 school, in a rural setting like Little Compton, provides a lot of interesting challenges that are very different from working in the hospital.  The job of the nurse at Wilbur & McMahon is multifaceted and never dull.  She needs to be prepared to care for children and adults when they are ill or get injured, perform health screenings, maintain health records, implement state and federal mandated health programs, provide student and teacher health education and ensure that the school environment is a healthy and safe one. Each year presents with new challenges.  This year Jean organized a school-based H1N1 vaccination clinic for students, ran a CPR certification class for nearly the entire staff and survived the 8th grade camping trip to Buck Hill.

In addition to her nurse responsibilities, Jean is also the Attendance Officer, a member of the Wellness Committee, the Prevention Coalition and the School Improvement Team. Jean has implemented a few grant programs over the past nine years such as “Calcium Builds Bones”, The 10 Mile Club and this year’s project, “Wilbur School Walks Across America”
Jean holds and maintains many certifications in order to keep current and remain proficient in her nurse positions at school and the hospital.  She holds a School Nurse Teacher certification, Basic Life Support Instructor certification, Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification, Pediatric Advanced Life Support certification, as well as certifications in Incident Command System to meet the requirements for the National Incident Management System for Emergency Preparedness.   
Jean enjoys working with all of the teachers and staff at Wilbur & McMahon School and is very thankful for the privilege of being a member of such a great staff and school family.

Meet Jason Ford, our Physical and Health Education Teacher

Jason Ford has lived in Rhode Island his entire life. Born and raised in Middletown, he attended Middletown High School where he played football and track & field.  He then attended Rhode Island College and received a degree in Psychology. Jason soon landed a job working with Bradley Hospital in their school program as a behavior specialist. His time working at Bradley really proved to him how much he loved to work with kids, leading to a decision to go back to school to become a physical education and health teacher. He worked at Portsmouth High School for the 2008-2009 school year.

Jason currently lives in Middletown, RI with his wife Meghan and their 1-year-olds, Addison and Jackson. When he has free time (which isn’t often), he loves to play tennis, golf, racquetball, and football. The more active he can be the better. He is a HUGE Boston Red Sox fan and on the football end he is a controversial New York Giants fan!

Physical and Health Education are very important to Jason because while in college his physical activity diminished and he lived a very sedentary lifestyle. He became very unhealthy and he says he was well on his way to obesity. One day he finally decided that he needed to make a change and he hasn’t looked back since! With obesity in our nation on the rise, and seeming to have no end in sight, Jason feels strongly about the importance of his job and the influence physical education teachers can have on students. “I am very excited to be a part of the Wilbur McMahon family and I know what great shoes I have to fill!” he says. “It is a challenge that I am thrilled to be part of!”

Meet Ann Connolly, our Head Teacher

Ann Connolly, who has taught sixth grade math and science since 1998, has recently accepted the post of Head Teacher. She has been part of the Wilbur-McMahon school community for the past 18 years. Ann first came to this school as a parent when her daughter Kate entered Kindergarten in 1991. Shortly after Ann became a substitute teacher. Over the next 7 years she had the opportunity to sub for every grade level and specialists in the school. Ann believes this experience gives her the insight to see the school from all perspectives, an important quality to have as head teacher.

When asked when she first thought of becoming a teacher, Ann quickly responded that teaching is all she has ever wanted to do ever since she was in first grade. As a student and now an adult, there has always been a love of learning. Her first teaching experience was as a kindergarten teacher, but now loves teaching middle school students. Ann believes every age is special and something wonderful to offer. It’s exciting to be part of watching sixth graders start evolving into independent young adults.

Ann is very proud of her family connection to Little Compton. Her great grandparents were one of the first Portuguese farming families to settle here in the late 1800’s. They worked on the Richmond farm before owning land of their own. Her mom attended Wilbur School and her fourth grade classroom is where Ann now teaches. Ann grew up in nearby Fall River, MA., spending many summer days here in town visiting relatives.
Calling Little Compton home happened in 1980 when Ann and her husband Bill were married. They live on Colebrook Road in a log cabin they built themselves.

This is an exciting year at Wilbur-McMahon. There are so many new faculty members, a new sixth grade partner, Smartboard technology, and of course the new roll as Head Teacher. Ann feels that it is wonderful to be part of all the excitement.