Cornwall-on-Hudson Principal Gail Wehmann is moving up a notch. She’ll be replacing Mike Brooks as Cornwall’s Assistant Superintendent for Instruction. Mr. Brooks leaves on July 1 to become the superintendent of schools in Marlboro.
This week Mrs. Wehmann let people know about her job change. She met with her faculty on Monday, and sent a note home with her students on Tuesday. She’ll share the news with them in person at the Friday morning opening in the auditorium.
What will she say? With a few days to go, she wasn’t sure. “With kids you have to keep it very real,” she said. “I’ll just speak from the heart the way I always do.”
In terms of geography, the move will be minimal. The district office is a short walk from the elementary school. But it will still be a separation from the students and faculty. “The hardest part,” she said during an interview, “will be not seeing the kids on a daily basis. It was such a gift to be here…. I hope to make them all proud; they made me a better principal.”
Mrs. Wehmann has been in Cornwall-on-Hudson for five years. The kids who were in kindergarten when she arrived will be moving up to the middle school at the end of the month.
She leaves with them, because she has a passion for curriculum. “The biggest thing,” she says of her new job, “is to remember why we’re all here. I want to support the work already established so our students become 21st century learners. They need experience in technology and communication. We have to provide them with diverse opportunities so they can compete in today’s economy.
“It will be a year of listening and learning,” Mrs. Wehmann (who is working toward a doctorate) continued. “It will be nice to look at the district from K to 12 and see where I can add my support.”
Her promotion became official at the June 8 Board of Education meeting. Her parents were in the audience that night, and her children (ages 9 and 6) were already aware of her new job.
“Who’s in charge,” the older one asked “if Mr. Miller [the superintendent] is out?”
Mrs. Wehmann answered that Mr. Sotland, the district’s business official, would take over. “And if he’s out?” the nine-year-old inquired.
His mother never had a chance to respond. The six-year-old figured out the answer and came up with a question of her own. “Mommy,” she asked, “are you ready for that?”
