The Sustainability Academy School Principal Search Advisory Team has announced two finalists for the SA principalship. The candidates are Kimberley McNamara (Educational Director at Baird School in Burlington) and Annsunee Swift (former principal of Brighton Elementary School). See below for more information on the candidates!
On Wednesday, April 16th, candidates toured SA, spoke with students, and engaged in professional learning communities with staff, before attending staff and community forums (see below for a recording).
In the next few weeks, Superintendent Flanagan will conduct final interviews before recommending a final candidate at the May 6th School Board meeting.
Meet The Candidates!
I was born and raised in a small rice-farming village in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I lived with my mother and her family until moving to the United States in 1991. My journey began through the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, which connected my family with a sponsor who contributed $25 a month to help cover medical care, school uniforms, and basic educational needs. It was a small but powerful gesture that opened a door.
When I arrived at Quakertown High School in Pennsylvania, I didn’t speak English and was placed two grades behind my peers. A year later, I moved to Albany, New York, to live with my sister and her foster family, and eventually graduated from the Albany Academy for Girls.
Like many young people with big dreams and limited resources, I struggled to find work after high school. I eventually enrolled at Castleton State College, taking out student loans and working as a paraprofessional while raising my oldest daughter. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education and, after a highly competitive process, became a first-grade teacher at Northwest Primary School in Rutland City—one of four selected from over 100 applicants.
Northwest was a special place. The staff cared deeply for children and one another, and I carry many of those relationships with me to this day. During my fifth year, I was accepted into the Vermont Mathematics Initiative—a rigorous graduate program that had long been a dream of mine. I balanced the coursework with full-time teaching and parenting two young children, completing the program in 2017. My daughters, then 12 and 5, were so proud of me. That moment meant everything.
In 2017, I stepped into instructional leadership as a coach with the Mount Abraham Unified School District. In 2019, I served as interim principal at Lincoln Community School during a sabbatical leave. From 2021 through December 2024, I was principal of Brighton Elementary School. Since then, I’ve been consulting and traveling.
As education systems grow in complexity, I remain deeply committed to leading and supporting children from diverse backgrounds. I bring a steady focus on equity, joyful learning, and sustainable, community-driven education—and continue to seek opportunities where that commitment can make a meaningful difference.
My name is Kim McNamara and I am excited by my candidacy for the principal of Sustainability Academy! I have lived in Vermont with my family for the last 5 years but have been visiting and loving the state and the Burlington area for much longer.
My formal education has included an undergraduate degree (BA in English) from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and graduate studies at Keene State College (M.Ed in Special Education) and the University of Alaska Anchorage (Education Leadership). My educational experiences have been broad and include special education teaching in a variety of settings in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as state level special education compliance and program management at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. My administrative experience includes 11 years of school level leadership at both the high school and K-8 levels. My most recent position as a school leader has been at the Baird School, a therapeutic school in Burlington.
In all of my roles, I have focused on fostering a positive school culture and climate that includes a balance of support and high expectations, equity for all, and ensuring that connection, joy and fun are regular components of the school community. I believe that learning is serious business AND that it can and should be fun, engaging, and inspirational!
As a school administrator, I focus on strengthening the school’s structures and systems while being a supportive presence who values all who walk through the door: the variety of experiences, background and cultures that make us each unique people. I believe that every one of us– including staff and students–want to do well and be our best selves and it is a school’s responsibility to foster an environment that allows for a high level of growth and success for all.
In my free time I like to read, run, spend time with family and friends, be outside and learn new things! We are currently learning about the maple syrup-ing process by tapping our own trees and boiling…yum!
Community Forum Recording and Feedback Survey
Did you miss the Community Forum? Please check out the video below. After watching the Forum, please take this brief survey and let us know your thoughts!
Thank You Search Advisory Team
Aimee Arandia Østensen, Community Partner
Natasha Sky, Parent
Kim Brockway, SA Staff
Julie Brown, SA Staff
Christina Lowe, SA Staff
Julie Norman, SA Staff
Kestrel Plump, SA Staff
David Paarlberg-Kvam, SA Staff
Emily Stone, Parent
District Office Participants
Kellie Klasen, Executive Director of Student Support Services
Michelle Meola, Director of Human Resources
Bonnie Johnson-Aten, Executive Director of School Leadership
John Fontaine I, Associate Director of Human Resources
Teresa Giallorenzo, HHB Coordinator
Mark Benjamin, Human Resource Office Coordinator
