There will be some new faces at Concord’s elementary schools when classes start up again in September. Beaver Meadow School, Mill Brook School and Broken Ground School all start the school year with new assistant principals, who are bringing a range of knowledge on special education law, IEP development, trauma, mentorship and more to Concord elementary schools.
Siza Mtimbiri, the new assistant principal at Beaver Meadow School, has a lifelong goal of giving low-income and underprivileged students the same opportunities as other students. It’s a goal he has pursued as an educator across multiple continents, working in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Morocco, Haiti, England and the U.S.
Mtimbiri started working at Beaver Meadow this summer, replacing former assistant principal Leigh Childs, who moved out of state. Before coming to Concord, Mtimbiri was principal at Southwick School in Northfield and assistant principal at Winnisquam Regional Middle School.
Born in Zimbabwe, Mtimbiri was one of two Black students to be the first to integrate a formerly whites-only school, after the country gained independence from the British in 1980. The school was well-funded, with rugby, cricket, tennis, swimming and a library that would have been “the size of four or five classrooms” at his old school. Mtimbiri said that opened the door for him to go on to a prestigious private school and also opened his eyes to what the ideal of education could look like.
“Because I had such a nice time in school, it really made me think more about education, being a teacher,” Mtimbiri said. “I said, ‘what if we could replicate this for other kids, except in the poorer schools?’ ”
Eager to make a difference, Mtimbiri worked for two years in his 20s as a teacher in the slums on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, feeding and teaching some of the country’s poorest students.
“It was life-changing. But at the same time, you could regularly see how they needed structural changes, obviously, permanence and how difficult it can be to educate students in environments like that,” Mtimbiri said. “But it was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done, easily.”
From there, Mtimbiri journeyed between some vastly different education settings, from a British ex-pat school in Morocco that would fly employees home for vacations, to working with HIV+ children in a Zimbabwean village school, to being a special educator for children with emotional disturbance and childhood development disorders. His experience in Zimbabwe inspired his graduate research on how children’s education can be impacted by trauma, especially from terminal illnesses like HIV/AIDS.
As an educator in New Hampshire, Mtimbiri says he frequently incorporates educational ideas he’s picked up other countries, including the belief that children shouldn’t be defined by their past mistakes, children shouldn’t be talked down to, and everyone has a unique thing that will make them thrive. Mtimbiri has also trained in the Montessori philosophy and embraces the belief of giving students space, choices and hands-on tasks.
Mtimbiri lives in Pittsfield with his wife Laura, a labor and delivery nurse at Concord Hospital, their children, 12-year-old Raymond and 7-year-old Alex, and their dog, Alfie.
At Beaver Meadow, Mtimbiri said he is looking forward to getting to know the special education families, communicating with parents about the good things – not just the bad things – students do in class, and finding ways to get teachers inspired again after a tough pandemic year.
“The opportunity to change another human being’s life for good, for them to feel like they can achieve whatever it is we are meant to be here for, to prepare them for the next stage, those are the things that inspire me,” Mtimbiri said. “And being able to inspire a child or a member of our community to say ‘I can do that.’ ”
Erin Cayer may be taking on a new role as assistant principal of Mill Brook School, but she’s a familiar face for many in the Concord School District.
Cayer has been Concord’s out-of-district coordinator for special education since 2019, and now hopes to bring that special education knowledge to her new administrative role, by helping parents and teachers with understanding and accessing special education.
“I really want to use my knowledge and experience with special ed and special ed law on providing that learning opportunity for our teachers,” Cayer said. “I think that my goal really is to work with those content-area teachers, those general education teachers and the unified arts, the specialists, the art, the PE, really working with them on understanding special ed, the whys.”
Cayer got her start working in preschool classrooms as an infant-toddler teacher through Concord Head Start, Early Head Start and Community Child Care. Then she worked in the Winnisquam School District, first as an elementary special education paraprofessional and then as a high school in-school suspension tutor.
Cayer’s time as an in-school suspension tutor has influenced her view on discipline, believing schools should provide good curriculum and instruction to support those students so they are not removed from the classroom.
“It’s not a matter of discipline, it’s a matter of teaching, learning what the student needs,” Cayer said. “No kid comes to school wanting to be fresh and naughty, they just don’t. It’s really working with them. ‘Can you tell us, and if not, can you show us what you need?’ ”
While at Winnisquam, she also developed a teacher mentoring program that’s still in place today, with a goal of improving teacher retention.
“We’re always seeing this revolving door of ‘this teacher’s leaving, now we have more staff coming in,’ ” Cayer said. “We are finding in education today, we’re getting so many new applicants that are coming from the industry that don’t really have that background and experience in teaching but have found a calling for that. So really working on developing a mentor program that not only supports the teacher but keeps them, because we find students learn best when there is consistency.”
Cayer lives in Northfield with her husband and children, 9-year-old Brennan and 7-year-old Bridget. When she’s not working, Cayer says she’s usually attending her kids’ sporting events and spending time with her family. She said she is glad to continue working in Concord schools, where she says the environment has been positive and energetic every day.
“My goal this year is just to learn Mill Brook and be a support to students and staff,” Cayer said. “(Principal Katie Scarpati) has done a fantastic job of moving the school forward, and my job is to march right alongside her and the team here, on making Mill Brook even more amazing than it already is.”
Katie Mackey, Broken Ground School’s new assistant principal, knew from a young age that she wanted to be an educator and impact students’ lives the way some of her favorite teachers impacted her’s growing up.
“I wanted to be able to do that for kids too,” Mackey said. “I wanted to be that teacher, that person, who just helps in some way, whether they feel important that day because I say hi to them, or if they feel like they have a safe person to talk to, or if school is just an exciting place to be and I can be a part of that for them, that’s great.”
Mackey started at Broken Ground this summer, replacing former assistant principal Nancy Pender, who retired at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Before coming to Concord, Mackey was the assistant principal at Pelham Middle School, but got her start as a general special education teacher and case manager at Henry Wilson Elementary School in Manchester.
“I love all kids, but now that I’m back in elementary this is definitely where my passion is, with the younger kids,” Mackey said. “I was very excited to get this opportunity because not only was I able to get back in the elementary level, which I like, but I have the opportunity to use my special ed background in this position.”
Mackey said her years as a special education teacher have helped her understand what the process is like for families, and wants to make sure things go easily for them and that terms are explained in an accessible way, especially for families who are new to special education or are new Americans facing a language barrier.
“I feel like that’s one of the most important parts of my job, making sure everyone at the table has a very clear understanding of what we’re doing for that child,” Mackey said.
As an administrator, Mackey said it’s the tiny moments that be the most inspiring, for both teachers and students. She said simple things like receiving an unexpected thank-you card from a family or giving a compliment that ends up changing a student’s whole day are the reason a lot of educators stay in the field.
“It’s those moments, where you’re making a difference every day, and you don’t necessarily know what it is you’re doing that’s making that difference, that inspires me to keep going,” Mackey said. “You never know what day it’s going to be that you may say or do something that will change somebody’s outlook on school.”
Mackey lives in Hudson with her husband, her two children, ages 10 and 4, and her mother. Outside of work, Mackey enjoys going to antique shows and collecting eclectic vintage home decor.
Although she is new to Concord, Mackey said she is looking forward to exploring more of the city’s downtown area. Right now, she is busy learning names and getting to know the other employees at Broken Ground School.
“My plan, my goal, is to join this community as it is, and to try to become part of what they’ve created here, and to try to do that as seamlessly as possible,” Mackey said.