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09/02/2021 08:30 AMEven before graduating from North Branford High School in 1992, Kristina Torre resigned herself to her second-choice career after realizing that her dream of becoming an MTV veejay was not realistic. Instead, she pursued her other passion—education—working in a number of roles throughout her career before recently being named principal of East Haven Academy (EHA).
“As a child of the ‘80s, I was bound and determined to be the next Martha Quinn and when that didn’t work out, the only other thing I wanted to do was teach children,” says Kristina, who is an avid music buff and collects vinyl records. “I love being in the classroom and working with children and adult learners.”
Kristina, who now lives in Branford, earned her bachelors from Keene State College in New Hampshire, her master’s from the University of New England in Maine, and her sixth-year in educational leadership from Southern Connecticut State University.
Kristina’s first job out of college was working as a preschool teacher for the Yale Law School Early Learning Center. After 18 months, she wanted to venture in the public school system and worked for several years in paraprofessional positions in both the Branford and North Branford school districts.
In 2002, Kristina was hired as a 6th-grade math and science teacher for New Haven Public Schools. After several years, she transitioned to an instructional math coach position in the district. Kristina was with New Haven schools for 15 years before being hired as Wallingford Public Schools’ district math coach for grades K to 2.
During this time, Kristina and her husband Ralph were raising their two sons, Dylan and Luke. As they became more involved in sports and activities, Kristina was drawn to a job closer to home. For the past four years, she has been an instructional math coach in her hometown of Branford where she has been the Walsh Intermediate School wrestling’s Booster Club president, served on Branford High School wrestling’s executive board, fundraised for Branford Little League, and volunteered with the BHS Gridiron Club.
“I just wanted to be fully available for my own kids with everything they were involved in,” says Kristina. “My husband and I feel very fortunate and know someday when they’re grown adults, we’ll sincerely miss these busy times, as hectic as it can be now. We feel strongly about doing everything we can because someday we won’t have it. It’s about the power of making memories and we want our children to have strong memories of these days.”
Kristina is looking forward to applying a similar philosophy in her new role as principal of EHA. Her goal is for her students and staff to not only learn, but feel safe and have fun while creating exciting experiences.
“I want our students and staff to look back and recall specific, fun things that they experienced here like the memories I can recall things from when I was a kid,” says Kristina. “At the end of the day, if students and staff can say they had fun while they’re in school, I feel like I’ve done my job well, especially now with so many unpleasant things in the world and on the news. It’s so important to make sure school is a safe, fun place that everyone involved looks forward to coming to every day.”
Kristina had always had an inkling that she wanted to eventually go into administration and completed her administration certification a few years ago, but she’d had no immediate plans to pursue a position. During the last year, though, Kristina “got this itch that drove me to start looking more seriously.” She came across the posting for the position at EHA.
“At the time, I didn’t know anything about East Haven Academy or East Haven Public Schools, so I started doing research and the more I started to learn about EHPS and specifically about EHA, the more intrigued I became,” says Kristina. “One thing that stuck out to me is that during the weirdness of what last year brought, East Haven chose to remain in person so I was instantly impressed by that and it spoke to me about resilience of this district.”
After her research, Kristina decided to apply. Though she felt she has gained leadership experience through her role as an instructional coach, she admits she wasn’t expecting to hear back as she knows “how unbelievably competitive” the hiring pool for these types of positions is.
Not only did Kristina hear back, but after interviews, she was hired. Kristina began work in mid-June and former principal Marianne Johnson reached out to help ease the transition. Kristina was not only grateful for Marianne to share her experience as a principal, but as a staff member who was “instrumental in the birth of EHA,” which was founded in 1997.
“I still kind of pinch myself and can’t believe this is really happening,” says Kristina. “I still have a lot more learning to do, but the saving grace has been that the staff I’m now a part of is nothing short of amazing. They are the most welcoming, helpful people and I instantly felt at home and completely reassured that this was absolutely the right choice.”
EHA is an elementary school in EHPS that has an integrated arts curriculum. Students are accepted by lottery to the grades 1 to 8 school where there are only 40 students per grade, making for a smaller school population.
Prior to the start of the school year, which was Aug. 31, Kristina had had the opportunity to meet a handful of students and their families and she is looking forward to meeting everyone in the EHA community. She plans to continue Johnson’s tradition of sending monthly school newsletters and stresses that she always wants to be accessible to parents.
“In the average day, I can get upwards of 200 emails, but I strongly believe in transparent and swift communication as both a parent and an educator,” says Kristina, who also enjoys boating and trips to Vermont. “My goal, even though some days may be more difficult than others, is to communicate in the most timely manner possible, always be completely transparent, and have an open dialog.”
In addition to communicating with families, Kristina also plans to focus on staff communications. As she has begun settling into her role, she has stressed the importance of self-care to her staff.
“We’re no good to our students if we’re not good to ourselves as well—I want staff and parents to know that I believe in family first and will always prompt families, staff, and stakeholders to not sweat the small stuff, make sure everyone is good to themselves, and take the time to be with those we love,” says Kristina, who is still getting used to being called Principal Torre. “It’s different, but it feels really good. Every day another piece of the puzzle falls into place. I’m really excited and feel genuinely lucky to be here.”