Cross Street Principal Chosen as Assistant Superintendent

The Naugatuck Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously chose Christopher Montini to be its next assistant superintendent of schools.

Montini, 37, is a Naugatuck native who has been principal at Cross Street Intermediate School for seven years. He also served as assistant principal for a year at Hop Brook School and taught elementary school in the district for six years, following a year of teaching in Bridgeport. 

"It's exciting to be in my hometown; this is the only place I wanted to do this," Montini told Patch Tuesday night. "I wasn't looking for leadership roles in other communities. I very much wanted to stay and be a part of this community, and the opportunity presented itself."

Montini, who now lives in Milford with his wife and two children, will begin the new role on July 1. Current Assistant Superintendent Brigitte Crispino will retire on June 30.

A committee chose Montini from an applicant pool of 30 that was pared down to three finalists. Those three interviewed with the school board during a special meeting at the Tuttle House Board of Education building Tuesday night in executive session. The board came out of the closed door meeting and chose Montini in a unanimous vote, 8-0. Board member Glenn Connan was not at the meeting due to a work obligation.

The school board did not name the other finalists on Tuesday. Chairman Dave Heller said one was from Region 12 (Washington, Conn., Bridgewater and Roxbury) and the other was from Massachusetts. He said both were wonderful candidates who scored very well. 

"Mr. Montini has provided many years of dedicated service to our community and to our school system," Heller said. "He's passionate about the students, the faculty and the staff in Naugatuck, and he expressed a strong desire to continue in a leadership role and to remain here as a valuable member of our district educational staff for many years to come.

"He's very strong in curriculum and educational leadership," Heller said. "He works very well with parents, teachers and faculty. And other administrators are confident that he can continue to lead the district forward and build bridges between the community and the staff."

Montini grew up on Longview Terrace and Tracy Ann Court on Naugatuck's east side. He was educated in Naugatuck public schools and graduated from Naugatuck High School in 1993. He holds bachelor's degrees in Spanish and Elementary Education from Southern Connecticut State University, where he also obtained a master's degree in elementary education and a sixth-year degree in educational leadership.

Upon graduation, he taught fifth grade for a year at Curiale School in Bridgeport, before heading back to Naugatuck. He taught fourth, fifth and sixth grades at Cross Street and the now defunct Prospect Street School.

"I went into education because I wanted to make a positive influence on the lives of students," he said. "I realized I could have a larger impact as a principal and this will allow me to have a larger impact on the community at large."

Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson, Ph. D, said: "Mr. Montini was chosen from a strong pool of applicants; he performed exceptionally well, and we're delighted that he's going to be our assistant superintendent."

The application for the position states the assistant superintendent manages professional development activities, state testing, the district's strategic/alliance grant plan and other areas related to the total educational programs of the district. Montini will "assist the superintendent with leadership of the district team of administrators." Read the full job description here. 

The school board has budgeted $143,240, not including benefits, for the position in its draft of next year's budget, said Bob Butler, assistant school business manager.