Hop Brook Principal to Move to City Hill Middle School

Principal Brian D. Hendrickson will be the new principal of this fall, school officials announced Thursday.

Hendrickson is expected to assume the role as principal of the grade 7-8 school starting July 1, according to a press release from the Board of Education and Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson.

The current City Hill principal, Christine Blanchard, is retiring at the end of the school year after serving 34 years in the Naugatuck Public School system.

“We are fortunate to have among our ranks another outstanding administrator who thoroughly understands the opportunities, challenges, and rewards of teaching middle school students,” Tindall-Gibson said in the news release. “I believe that the staff and parents at City Hill will enjoy working with Brian to create an even finer educational program filled with enriching opportunities for students.”

Hendrickson, a Farmington resident, first came to Naugatuck in 2008 from Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull, where he taught sixth- and eight-grade social studies for five years. He served a two-year administrative internship at and was hired as principal at Hop Brook in 2010.

Patch sat down with Hendrickson shortly after he assumed the role of Hop Brook principal. was published the day this news website launched on Oct. 10, 2010.

Hendrickson is a graduate of Fordham University and Albany Law School where he graduated with honors. After attaining Admission to the Bar in California, he completed requirements for teacher certification at Southern Connecticut State University, and then obtained a Sixth Year Certificate from the University of Connecticut.

Tindall-Gibson said the Board of Education will be searching for a replacement principal for Hop Brook Elementary School. He said this is the only administrative change happening following the .

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