MOFFAT — Moffat School announced last week that a new superintendent and new principal will be on board for the coming 2017-2018 school year.
Christina Larson will replace former superintendent Kirk Banghart who resigned for “personal reasons” in May. The Moffat School board hired Larson for the position earlier this month.
She is an enthusiastic leader in education, with 14 years of school-based teaching and leadership experience. After graduating from CU Boulder, Larson started her professional career in New Mexico as a teacher in downtown Albuquerque. After completing her master’s degree in curriculum and instructional leadership, she continued to teach, becoming focused on special education inclusion and instructional coaching.
Larson returned to Colorado in 2009 and has worked at the Colorado Department of Education and as a senior director at an educational nonprofit, where she has focused on improving education and community revitalization in rural areas. Larson lives in Crestone with her family and two dogs and loves to do crafty-things like making jewelry and gifts.
The new superintendent will be developing a vision and a strategic plan in the coming months with staff, family and community input.
Jillian Sciacca is the new Pre-K-12 principal at Moffat Consolidated School. She replaces formal principal Michelle Hashbarger, who remains on administrative leave following an altercation that occurred at the school in April.
Sciacca is originally from Canon City, but moved to the Valley five years ago. She has a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in reading and literacy. She has been a professional educator for the past 11 years teaching kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, college introductory courses and graduate-level education courses.
The new principal brings a wealth of knowledge to the position related to best educational practices and will be a valuable asset to the school. Additionally, Sciacca is a regular contributor to the website The Children’s Book Review, where she writes literacy-based articles with the goal to help families enhance their children’s literacy development.
“My goal is to ensure that every student in our school receives exceptional instruction from top-notch teachers, as well as extracurricular opportunities that allow students to develop positive character traits, cultivate their passions and develop the skills they need to succeed outside the classroom,” Sciacca said in a recent press release. “Additionally, keeping children safe and enthusiastic about learning are my top priorities.”
Sciacca ran track and cross country at the University of Colorado where she earned her undergraduate degree. She lives in Villa Grove with her husband Jack and their daughter, Gianna.
The first day of school for Moffat students is Aug. 14.
Jillian Larson provided the biographical information used in this article.