New Carmel principal a familiar face

CARMEL – For five years, educator Candy Devlin has spearheaded curriculum development in the Carmel area. This year, as principal of the Carmel Elementary School, she’ll begin implementing some of the things she helped develop.

“I had to see what the impact of this was on students and how this plays out with students, parents and teachers in the classroom,” said Devlin, who was named principal of the school earlier this summer.

It’s a school system with which she is very familiar, having cut her teeth as a teacher assistant in Carmel in 1975 and gone on to teach all grades through the eighth until 1999 when she was named curriculum coordinator for schools in Carmel, Levant, Etna and Dixmont. She has taught long enough to have more than one generation in the classroom.

“I know my town and many of the families,” Devlin said on Monday, amid the rush of activity that faces all principals on the day before school starts. “Many of the kids, I’ve had their parents in class.”

But education is also about change, Devlin said. One of her priorities as principal is to see that the school aligns its curriculum to the state’s Learning Results, which requires high school students to attain certain educational standards before they can graduate. Much of the work already is done in setting up the curriculum. Devlin said the assessment to monitor how well the school is adapting already is in place.

Clearly excited about what the year will bring in a school of 216 pupils and 29 staff, Devlin also knows that challenges lie ahead.

Teachers face many demands in the classroom, she said, including working with pupils who have different learning styles; some are more visual, others need additional attention.

“To have kids meet the standard, we have to make sure we provide lots of opportunity to learn and make sure we use the best instructional methods,” Devlin said.

Devlin likens the job of an educator to that of a juggler trying to figure out how to keep many balls in the air at once.

With hard work, the goals can be achievable, she said. As curriculum coordinator for SAD 23 (Carmel, Levant) and SAD 38 (Etna, Dixmont) Devlin landed a $600,000 federal Reading Excellence Act grant to increase literacy at all levels, including adults.

And now she gets to serve as principal in a community she said she loves.

“Good fortune has really followed me,” Devlin said.