West Hartford Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus has announced the departure of Dan Zittoun for an administrative role in another district, and the appointment of Sarah Isaacs as interim principal of Hall High School.

Sarah Isaacs. Courtesy photo

By Ronni Newton

When the students return to West Hartford’s Hall High School at the end of August, for the first time in more than a decade there will be a new leader at the school.

Dan Zittoun, who was Hall’s principal for 11 years, has announced that he is leaving the district to become assistant superintendent for Finance and Operations for the Farmington Public Schools.

Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus shared the news late Friday with the Hall High School community and the Board of Education, praising the accomplishments and “legacy of excellence” that Zittoun will leave behind and expressing how grateful he is for Zittoun’s leadership.

“While I am certainly sad to say goodbye to Dan, I could not be happier for him and I congratulate him on this outstanding professional opportunity,” Vicinus wrote. “It is with sincere gratitude that I reference his 11-year tenure and the many amazing accomplishments that the Hall Community has garnered under Dan’s leadership. From accolades and awards for fine and performing arts, to state championships in athletics and national recognition in academics, Hall High has flourished for over a decade while Dan has served as principal. He has left an indelible mark on Hall and the entire West Hartford community.”

In a public post on his Facebook and Instagram pages on Sunday morning, Zittoun wrote: “It would be impossible to thank all the people who have made this journey an incredible experience for my family and me. I have interacted with so many amazing people that will continue to inspire me to become a better leader, educator, husband, father and person. I am excited to be joining another incredible community and continue to grow professionally and personally.”

Within the hour, the social media announcements garnered hundreds of “likes” as well as hundreds of comments congratulating Zittoun, remarking on his impressive legacy and wishing him the best of luck in his new role.

Vicinus also announced that Sarah Isaacs, who has been an assistant principal at Hall since 2018, has been named interim principal. While a formal search process will be initiated next spring to involve the community in the process, “The immediate charge was to identify a highly-skilled, dedicated, and very talented individual to lead Hall in the interim,” he said, noting that Isaacs “has distinguished herself among her peers based on her wealth of talents, her passion and dedication, and her demonstrated level of caring and commitment to students and families.”

Isaacs has lived in West Hartford since 2007, and has been with the district for 15 years – the majority of her career in education, beginning as a middle school language arts teacher at King Philip. As assistant principal at Hall for the the past six years, she has led the Culturally Responsive Instructional Team and has been the liaison to Hall’s PTO, and has also led the Teacher Induction Program for the district and presented at national conferences. In addition, outside of the classroom she has also been an athletic coach, TEAM mentor, and curriculum writer.

“I’m very excited,” Isaacs said Sunday afternoon. She said she is looking forward to taking on this new role. “To be part of what we do every day with the kids is the best,” she said, adding that the students and the staff at Hall are what make working there so rewarding.

“Paul and the executive team are so incredibly supportive,” said Isaacs, and that support will ensure her success in this interim role, she said.

Isaacs has a bachelor’s degree in English, master’s in curriculum and instruction, and sixth year certificate in educational leadership – all from the University of Connecticut. She and her husband, Aaron, live in the Hall district and have three children who will be future Titans.

Both Hall and Conard have new principals to start off the 2024-2025 academic year, and both are female. In June, Jocelyn Tamborello-Noble, who had been serving in an interim role since late 2023, was officially named Conard’s principal.

Isaacs said she and Tamborello-Noble know each other well, and recently did a presentation together in Los Angeles about student voices. “Jocelyn and I get along really well … I’m really enthused and excited about working together again.”

Vicinus told We-Ha.com that there are “big shoes” to fill taking over for Zittoun at Hall, but is confident in Isaacs’ leadership. “Sarah is our No. 1 prospect and I am very excited,” he said.

“I am very, very proud of Isaacs, and excited for Dan,” Vicinus said.

Isaacs’s moving into the principal role leaves a vacant assistant principal job. She said she hopes to fill that role by the start of the school year.

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