What a difference a few months make. After ending the academic year in turmoil last June with the sudden, acrimonious departure of principal John Miller, the continued specter of state-mandated corrective action, and a controversial plan to release students at noon on Wednesdays to increase teacher-development time, Nantucket Elementary School appears headed in the right direction.

The school’s new three-pronged leadership approach is largely responsible, according to a recent anonymous survey of parents and staff. Associate principals Krista Connelly, responsible for pre-kindergarten to second grade, Nina Slade, overseeing third to fifth, and supervising principal Joe Aguiar, all received high praise for the transparency, trust and improved communication that is now prevalent at NES, and for increasing morale among not only staff but parents. The proof will be in the pudding, and the latest round of standardized test scores aren’t back yet, but something certainly seems to have changed for the better. A walk through the halls these days reveals more smiles, and the mood among staff is definitely lighter. Aguiar, Connelly and Slade are to be congratulated, if for no other reason than the administrative reorganization appears to have removed much of the drama that’s surrounded NES in recent years and put the focus back on education.

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