Thatcher Brook principal says retirement is next when school year ends

December 12, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti 

Principal Denise Goodnow. File photo by Gordon Miller.

After eight years in the front office at Thatcher Brook Primary School, Principal Denise Goodnow has decided she will retire when this school year ends in June. 

Goodnow shared her news with the school staff and families last week. Harwood Union School District Superintendent Brigid Nease told the school board at the start of its meeting on Wednesday and said that a search process for a new principal would begin mid-January. 

Goodnow said she has “loved every minute” of her time at Thatcher Brook. She came to the PreK-4 school in 2013 along with Stephanie Hudak. They were hired as co-principals following the resignations of former Principal Don Schneider and Assistant Principal Barbara Tomasi-Gay. 

Hudak after two years shifted to working as an administrator at both Thatcher and Crossett Brook Middle School and eventually moved to Crossett full time and this year has moved to the district’s central office overseeing special education programming. Goodnow has been principal working with an assistant principal the past four school years, Matt Bloom for two and Sara Schoolcraft since 2019. 

Goodnow said her announcement to staff was via Zoom last week. On Monday she emailed parents of students at the school. 

"I knew when I came to Thatcher in 2013 that this would be my last job before I retired. Now seven and a half years later, having had the privilege of working with the most outstanding group of educators, most supportive community and the most awesome students anywhere, the time has come for me to focus on my family,” Goodnow wrote. 

She explained what she plans to focus on next. “When my mother passed away last year it gave me pause to stop and think about what’s most important in my life. She exemplified everything I strive to be as a mother and grandmother and to be able to be all that requires me not to be working. I can’t give 100% in two different places and three little grandsons tug at my heartstrings too much to ignore that anymore. Therefore, I will be retiring at the end of this school year, June 2021.”
Prior to taking the position at Thatcher Brook, Goodnow worked at the K-6 Cornwall Elementary School in Addison County where she had been a classroom teacher and principal. 

Soon after she arrived at Thatcher Brook, Goodnow introduced the school community to her Goldendoodle and therapy dog Cooper who visited the school often and became a regular member of the staff. He often joined Goodnow at arrival and dismissal outside and regularly visited classrooms where students enjoyed reading out loud to him. 

Goodnow acknowledged in her letter to families that this year with the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging for everyone. “I want to thank each of every one of you for the support you provide to all of us at TBPS on a daily basis. We appreciate it more than you know. We've still got a lot of work to do to get us through this crazy year,” she wrote.