See the video below of Robert Pennington in 2015 when he was a Roton Middle School Social Studies teacher for grades 7 and 8 and serving as the Program Coordinator for Carver's after school STRIVE program there, always making the experiences memorable and transformative for our youth.
Norwalk Public Schools announced Friday that Robert Pennington has been selected as principal of Rowayton Elementary School, effective July 1. Pennington was recommended for the principal position by the Rowayton School Governance Council and is being nominated by Norwalk Public Schools Superintendent Steven J. Adamowski.
His appointment will be confirmed at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting.
According to a press release, Pennington will continue to promote positive school culture in his new role, while implementing educationally rigorous programming for all students. He will also support professional growth for staff and continue to encourage parent involvement within the school.
Pennington was selected for the position following an extensive search by the Rowayton School Governance Council. Applications were considered from a large number of external and internal candidates.
"Rob has been an integral part of helping Rowayton meet high academic standards for all students," Adamowski said in a release. "Rowayton is part of a select group of schools to have been named a Level 1 School of Distinction by the State. Staff and students have worked hard to earn this achievement, a status that Rob will continue to pursue as he moves forward in this new role."
Pennington joined the Rowayton team as Curriculum and Instruction Site Director (CISD) in 2017. During this time, he worked closely with Interim Principal Joe Rodriquez to develop short and long-range goals to drive building improvements, improve school climate and foster academic growth at Rowayton.
On behalf of the school community, Adamowski thanked Rodriquez for his outstanding service at Rowayton and the development of Pennington as his successor.
Pennington is also invested in the positive integration of technology into every day learning. He served as the district's lead technology coach and collaborated with teachers, administrators and superintendents across the county to bring Edcamp SWCT to Norwalk. The popular "unconference" provides participants with opportunities to explore varied topics of interest.
He also held the position of CISD at Brookside Elementary School, where he created and implemented a before-school intervention program for students in need of academic support. This program was instrumental in helping the school to narrow the achievement gap.
Pennington has provided similar interventions for students at Rowayton School.
Prior to his assignment as a CISD, he taught social studies at Roton Middle School. During his 11 years at Roton, he was a team leader and director of the Carver Foundation after-school program.
Pennington completed the New Leaders program and the Relay Principal Fellowship. These rigorous leadership-training experiences focus on analyzing data and students work, providing strong feedback and building school culture.
He earned his Sixth-Year Certificate from Sacred Heart University and holds both a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from Fairfield University and a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, with a concentration in Social Studies, from Niagara University.