Norwalk Public Schools is pleased to announce that Barbara Wood has been appointed as the new principal at Brien McMahon High School.

An experienced administrator who is deeply familiar with the school, Ms. Wood has been serving as interim principal at McMahon since May 2021. In this role, she has been overseeing instruction, supervising teachers and staff, and managing all day-to-day operations, including implementation of the school improvement plan and budget to reflect school needs and district priorities.

Ms. Wood joined the Senators in 2007 as assistant principal. In this role, she collaborated with school colleagues and district administrators to implement the school’s vision and goals, and to set strategic targets for improvement based on data and areas of focus. Her work included developing and building the master schedule for all 2000 students at the school, and overseeing course selection and the program of studies. Her responsibilities included managing all aspects related to an entire grade level of students, working closely to support families, students and staff throughout their time at McMahon.

In her role as assistant principal, she also led evaluations and served as a coach to McMahon teachers in special education, social studies, health/physical education, business and counseling. She was responsible for leading the school’s RISE Strategic Partnership for college and career readiness. Her experience at McMahon includes the implementation of the restorative approach to discipline, the development and implementation of the school’s Advisory Program, and working with the attendance committee to address chronic absenteeism through social-emotional supports and home visits.  

Before joining NPS, Ms. Wood was department chair at Bunnell High School in Stratford. At Bunnell, she oversaw curriculum development and implementation for grades 7-12, and evaluated teachers at both the high school and feeder middle schools. She served as Teacher-in-Residence at the Connecticut State Department of Education for a year, overseeing the Beginning Educator Support and Training (BEST) program. Ms. Wood started her career in education as a social studies teacher at Norwich Free Academy and Coventry High School.

Ms. Wood was a 2021 fellow at the RELAY Graduate School of Education. She completed the 6^th year certificate program in educational leadership at Southern Connecticut State University. She earned a Master of Science in secondary education from the University of Connecticut, as well as a Bachelor of Science from the school in secondary social studies. She is certified as a trainer by the International Institute of Restorative Practice.