Dr. Charles C. Swan II

Dirigo Elementary School
Regional School Unit No. 56
Peru, Maine
[email protected]

In his 13 years as principal of Dirigio Elementary School, Charles Swan has established himself as a dynamic leader capable of bringing long-term vision to life. Among his first tasks at Dirigio was establishing a new school culture to unify a splintered staff, as the school had opened just two years prior as a merger of two smaller schools. Swan spent the first few years of his tenure building grade level teams to foster relationships between new hires and longtime staff and establishing community partnerships to increase community investment in the school. This foundational work allowed Swan to lead several major change processes at Dirigio, including a significant expansion of the school’s pre-K program, doubling program capacity and eliminating the program’s admissions waitlist. Swan also led a comprehensive update to the school’s technology program, including professional development focused on helping teachers leverage these tools to boost engagement and achievement, work which later proved vital to a smooth transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of a decade, Dirigio has abandoned ineffective literacy teaching practices and adopted an entirely new philosophical approach that is now a model for other districts. Swan holds a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Multicultural Education from Eastern College, an M.A. in Educational Administration and School Leadership from the University of Phoenix, and an Ed.D. in School Leadership from the University of New England.