Nahant — Johnson Elementary School has appointed Heather Castonguay as the new principal, effective July 1, after the immediate past Principal Kevin Andrews announced in May that he wouldn’t be returning for the 25-26 school year.
Castonguay has over 28 years of educational leadership under her belt, with experience in areas such as school/district-level administration, curriculum development, and instructional leadership. Her most recent role was as Director of English Language Arts and World Languages; she also served as a Middle School Principal for eight years in Rockport from 2013-2021.
“We interviewed three very qualified candidates earlier this week, coming to a clear consensus that Heather Castonguay was the best fit for our small and vibrant school community. Heather comes to JES with many years of successful experience as an educator in this area of Massachusetts as both a teacher and an administrator at many different levels,” the school said in a statement.
She received a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology in Education K-12, as well as a Bachelor of Education Studies in Elementary Education from Salem State University. She also received an Associate of Science Degree in Early Childhood Education from North Shore Community College.
Castonguay said that she’s “incredibly honored to join the Nahant community.”
“Nahant is such a unique and special place, and thinking about the school… How I can truly serve and be a true contributor to the community, I think, is very important,” she said. “What drew me to the district is that it’s a very similar community to the coastal town I live in as well. I want to preserve the beauty of small towns.”
She continued, saying that she values those strong community relationships. “I’m excited to build upon that and build a nice foundation for that,” she said.
