Committee picks Harwood alum as Moretown Elementary School principal choice
May 12, 2023 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
Katelyn Liptak, courtesy photo
Recent shuffling of administrators in principal roles in the Harwood Unified Union School District has resulted in several new hires, and one principal opening remains to be filled.
On Friday, the committee charged with reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and recommending a hiring choice for the principal position at Moretown Elementary School said it has reached a decision.
The committee is recommending that the district hire Moretown resident Katelyn Liptak for the job which would start July 1 for the 2023-24 school year.
Liptak will succeed Mandy Couturier who has been principal at Moretown for the past five years. Couturier in July will move to a newly created district-wide position, Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, created in response to new state requirements related to special education.
A Waterbury native, Liptak went to Crossett Brook Middle School where she was a finalist earlier this spring for one of the two co-principal positions there starting in July. Another Moretown-resident candidate, Jennifer Clark Durren, currently a teacher in the Winooski School District, was hired for that job. Durren will work alongside Duane Pierson who moves from assistant principal for Harwood Middle School to Crossett Brook in July. Current Crossett Brook Principal Tom Drake is stepping down in June after 14 years as the school’s top administrator.
This year Liptak was named associate principal in the First Branch Unified School District in Tunbridge and Chelsea. First Branch is currently in its first year of a reconfiguration and Liptak has part of the leadership team that has worked to blend the two schools together. She previously spent 13 years as a K-12 music educator in schools in South Royalton, Berlin and Montpelier.
A 2005 Harwood graduate, Liptak received her bachelor’s degree in music performance and music education in 2009 from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. She earned a masters in Education from the University of Southern New Hampshire in 2016 and received an administrative license in 2020.
Liptak said she is very excited for the opportunity to serve her community as the principal of Moretown Elementary School and she looks forward to working alongside the many dedicated faculty and staff that make MES the warm and welcoming place it is. Liptak’s spouse is another familiar face in the local school and music community, Crossett Brook music teacher and band director Dan Liptak.
The seven-member Moretown Principal Search Committee consisted of three school staff members; a parent; Moretown representative to the HUUSD School Board Ben Clark; Pierson from Harwood Middle School; and Harwood Superintendent Mike Leichliter. The committee said it reviewed eight candidates for the position, narrowed the choice down to three semi-finalists, and chose Liptak.
The committee announced its recommendation in a letter to the Moretown school community, inviting the public to a meet-and-greet with Liptak on Monday evening, 6-7 p.m., at Moretown Elementary School. The hiring recommendation next goes to the full HUUSD School Board for approval at its May 24 regular meeting.
Leichliter shared the committee’s announcement letter with The Valley Reporter and Waterbury Roundabout on Friday afternoon. It’s printed below in its entirety.
To the Moretown Community:
We are writing with exciting news for the Moretown School community at large.
After an extensive search for our new Moretown principal, we have meticulously reviewed eight outstanding candidates. As a result of the diligent work of the committee, we are thrilled to present the recommendation from the top three semi-finalists who interviewed for the opportunity to serve as the Moretown principal.
We are absolutely delighted to announce that our top choice, Katelyn Liptak, will be unanimously recommended to the Harwood Unified Union School Board. Hailing from right here in Moretown, Kate is a caring and experienced associate principal with a strong background in K-4 & 7-8 schools in another Vermont school district.
We would like to invite the entire Moretown community to an informal meet and greet with Kate to be held on Monday, May 15 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the cafeteria at the Moretown School. We encourage the entire community to drop by anytime during this hour to personally welcome Kate and get to know her better. At 6:30 pm, Kate will share a few words with everyone present.
This special event offers a fantastic opportunity for our community to connect with Kate before the school board takes action on her candidacy at their March 24th meeting.
Thank you for your unwavering support of Moretown School! We look forward to keeping you informed and engaged throughout this exciting process. See you on May 15th!
Thank you!
The Moretown Principal Search Committee:
Danielle Kent (Parent & PTO President)
Jason Stevenson (School Counselor)
Terry Hopper (Grade 5/6 Teacher)
Brenda Hartshorn (Administrative Assistant)
Ben Clark (School Board, Moretown)
Duane Pierson (Assistant Principal, Harwood Union MS)
Mike Leichliter (HUUSD Superintendent of Schools)