Kathryn Polumbo
Cornwall Central Middle School
Cornwall Central School District
Cornwall, New York
[email protected]
In her nine years as principal of Cornwall Central Middle School, Kate Polumbo has worked tirelessly to improve school culture and ensure all students have the foundations and opportunities to excel. As an instructional leader, Polumbo has emphasized team-building and cross-departmental collaborations that allow faculty and staff to come together to form assessments and propose changes to staffing and programs in order to tailor support to meet individual student needs. She has supported her team in implementing a STEAM class, integrating executive functioning into coursework, revamping math intervention, and expanding reading intervention support. Across each of these efforts, Polumbo has used guided discovery to build staff capacity to interpret and use data to shape instruction. Attuned to the importance of a well-supported transition from elementary to middle school, Polumbo has developed an integrated orientation program for new students and families, especially important as the only local school that starts middle school at the fifth grade level. Polumbo is known as a compassionate and reflective leader within her district who is skilled at bringing multiple stakeholders together to inform the school improvement process. She holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies in School Leadership from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, an M.S. in Education and School Administration from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and a B.S. in Physical Education from State University of New York at Cortland.