Principal, Mansfield Public Schools, Mansfield, Connecticut
Nominees: Josephn Renzulli and Sally Reis
Mrs. Norma Fisher-Doiron, Principal of Southeast Elementary School in Mansfield, Connecticut, was named Connecticut’s 2008 National Distinguished Principal by the Connecticut Association of Schools and National Association of Elementary School Principals. She was chosen for her dynamic educational leadership and single-minded commitment to high levels of student achievement.
Mrs. Fisher-Doiron has been an educator for the last 39 years. She started her professional career in 1970 as a special education teacher. After seventeen years in a variety of teaching positions within the field of special and regular education, she assumed the roles of instructional leader and curriculum specialist for the West Hartford Public Schools in West Hartford, Connecticut. She also served as Director of Pupil Personnel Services for the Mansfield Public Schools in Mansfield, Connecticut. In her sixteen years as principal of Southeast, Mrs. Fisher-Doiron is credited with transforming a struggling school into a vibrant learning community with high academic standards and a “children always come first” philosophy.
Over the last several years, Mrs. Fisher-Doiron has been a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and chairperson of the Higher Education Grant Committee for the Theta Chapter, which awards an annual grant to an aspiring teacher candidate. She also participates in other professional organizations, serving on the Board of Directors for Connecticut Association of Schools and the Connecticut Advisory Council for School Administrator Professional Standards. Mrs. Fisher-Doiron is an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut, Neag School of Education. Recently, she co-authored the article entitled “Going Beyond the Basics to Reach All Children” for the May/June 2009 edition of Principal, a professional journal for elementary and middle-school educators.
Mrs. Fisher-Doiron earned her B.A. and M.S. at Central Connecticut State University and her sixth year certificate at the University of Connecticut.
