Co-principal exits Leland & Gray after brief tenure

Rebecca Fillion has stepped down from her new role as co-principal at Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School, ending a tenure that lasted only a short time.

Windham Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Bob Thibault said the school community was informed of the resignation in stages, with staff receiving notice on Thursday afternoon and students and families learning of it on Friday. David Cohn, who serves as director of social emotional learning and equity at WCSU, has been named acting co-principal while the district looks for an interim administrator to complete the school year.

In her resignation materials and a message to the community, Fillion said she was leaving for personal and mental health related reasons. She also expressed appreciation for the students and staff, saying they had given her energy, support, and encouragement during her brief time at the school.

Fillion also said she believed in the direction the school had set and stressed that her short stay did not lessen her regard for the Leland & Gray community. She added that she would continue to support the Rebels from afar.

Her departure comes after Leland & Gray adopted a new leadership structure. In a May email to families, Thibault said the school was moving away from a more traditional principal and assistant principal arrangement. The revised model was approved unanimously by the West River Education District Board after Assistant Principal Jesse Riemenschneider returned to the classroom.

Under that plan, Dana Aquadro became co-principal of the middle school, while Fillion was selected to serve as co-principal of the high school. Thibault said the change was intended to better meet the different needs of the middle and high school programs.

Fillion brought significant experience to the job. She spent 17 years as principal of Twin Valley Elementary School in Wilmington and previously led the Vermont Principals Association. Thibault also noted that her adult children attended L&G and that she had longstanding ties to the school.

School leaders had said the new arrangement was designed to combine leadership experience and strengthen both academic support and student engagement across the building.