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- Debra Beaupre will become Burlington High School principal on July 1.
Beaupre is currently an associate principal at Hanover High School in New Hampshire. She's scheduled to begin in Burlington on July 1, according to superintendent Tom Flanagan, who recommended the board hire her.
Beaupre "received overwhelming support from current BHS staff and students, for her strong qualifications and experience, leadership, connection with students, especially those of the Global Majority, willingness to listen, and her genuine personality and sense of humor," Flanagan wrote in a hiring memo dated May 2.
The school district uses the term "Global Majority" to refer to non-white people, who make up approximately 85 percent of the global population.
During a candidate forum on April 13, Beaupre, who is Black, said she has spent most of her career working in majority-white communities. She said she looked forward to the opportunity to "work with people of color, students of color, and also work in a place that is interested in hearing from all voices and welcoming those voices."
Beaupre also spoke of working hard to communicate with families, including by "making materials available in peoples’ languages." Around 38 percent of Burlington students are people of color and around 16 percent receive English Language Learning services, according to school district data.
Beaupre, who spent 25 years as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, has been an administrator in four different schools since 2016, according to her résumé. Before becoming an administrator at Hanover High School in 2020, she spent two years as principal of Cavendish Town Elementary School, a K-6 school with around 80 students.
At Cavendish, Beaupre was the subject of a petition of no confidence in April 2019, signed by 70 people who expressed concerns about her discipline style and an incident involving a school bus. According to the Chester Telegraph, some parents alleged that Beaupre had passed a stopped school bus in her car, pulled up in front of it, then boarded the bus to tell students they needed to sit down while the bus was moving. The incident spurred one parent to file a complaint with the Vermont State Police, which appears to have resulted in no further action. Beaupre resigned from the Cavendish job in May 2020.
When asked about the Chester Telegraph article, Beaupre released a written statement through the Burlington School District on Wednesday.
Burlington School District spokesperson Russ Elek said the principal hiring committee — which was composed of administrators, teachers, school staff, parents and students — didn't know about the Chester Telegraph article.
Still, Elek wrote, "Deb was fully supported by the [committee], received overwhelming support from staff and students, and received a glowing recommendation from her current supervisor."
"We also know that Deb stepped into her role at Cavendish following a principal who had served there for 30 years, which is a change that can be challenging for anyone, and that leaders of the Global Majority are consistently held to a higher standard than White leaders," Elek wrote.
At Cavendish, Beaupre was the subject of a petition of no confidence in April 2019, signed by 70 people who expressed concerns about her discipline style and an incident involving a school bus. According to the Chester Telegraph, some parents alleged that Beaupre had passed a stopped school bus in her car, pulled up in front of it, then boarded the bus to tell students they needed to sit down while the bus was moving. The incident spurred one parent to file a complaint with the Vermont State Police, which appears to have resulted in no further action. Beaupre resigned from the Cavendish job in May 2020.
When asked about the Chester Telegraph article, Beaupre released a written statement through the Burlington School District on Wednesday.
"I recognize that not everyone agrees with my actions regarding the bus four years ago. However, what I hope people understand is that I prioritize student safety first and foremost. I saw what I felt was a safety situation, and I attempted to act quickly to intervene," Beaupre wrote.
"This is what it means to be an administrator, to keep students and student safety at the heart of everything I do," the statement continued. "It may not always look perfect, and sometimes it might even ruffle feathers, but my goal is always to put student safety at the top of the list."
"This is what it means to be an administrator, to keep students and student safety at the heart of everything I do," the statement continued. "It may not always look perfect, and sometimes it might even ruffle feathers, but my goal is always to put student safety at the top of the list."
Still, Elek wrote, "Deb was fully supported by the [committee], received overwhelming support from staff and students, and received a glowing recommendation from her current supervisor."
"We also know that Deb stepped into her role at Cavendish following a principal who had served there for 30 years, which is a change that can be challenging for anyone, and that leaders of the Global Majority are consistently held to a higher standard than White leaders," Elek wrote.
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The pandemic forced kids to learn remotely, and, in September 2020, the high school was abruptly shuttered due to the discovery of toxic chemicals known as PCBs. As the district began renovating a former Macy's department store on Cherry Street to serve as a temporary high school, then-principal Noel Green resigned.
In his resignation letter, Green said his long-term status as interim principal was a primary reason for stepping down, and he later blasted the school board, saying it was "overbearing," disrespectful and unsupportive.
Lauren McBride, then-assistant principal at the high school, was tapped to serve as principal when Green departed. She stayed for two years, during which students and staff moved into the temporary downtown space and the school district passed a $165 million bond to build a new high school.
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In her statement on Wednesday, Beaupre said she was thankful to have been chosen to lead Burlington High School.
"BHS reminds me of my high school in Somerville, [Mass.], kids from all over the world with a wide range of cultures, languages and ideas," she wrote. "This feels a bit like coming home and I cannot wait to get started."
"BHS reminds me of my high school in Somerville, [Mass.], kids from all over the world with a wide range of cultures, languages and ideas," she wrote. "This feels a bit like coming home and I cannot wait to get started."
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