When Wiscasset Primary School Principal Cheryl Howe retired in June, it was past the prime window that school districts have to find new administrators, Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit Superintendent Howard Tuttle said.

By June, the pool to choose from is not very deep, he said. So the district is trying something different for this school year, fashioning a one-year administration with an interim, half-time principal, Patricia Watts (who is also an assistant superintendent for the district) and interim, part-time assistant principal, Mona Schlein.

Schlein, a longtime first-grade teacher, is entering her 26th year at the school.

“I am like the furniture,” she said.

Unlike the furniture, however, Schlein is a doer. While serving as assistant principal this year, she will continue to serve as the Midcoast region's teacher-leader for the early intervention program known as Reading Recovery.

Tuttle said he was aware of Schlein's accomplishments in literacy even before he joined the district.

“Mona is an amazing teacher, and well-known as a trainer in reading recovery and literacy development,” Tuttle said August 30.

Tuttle said Watts, meanwhile, brings a wealth of administrative experience with her to the school, including 20 years as an elementary school principal.

There is another benefit to Watts' presence in Wiscasset. Tuttle's office is in Somerville, so it will be good to have a central office official up this way, Tuttle said.

How will Watts balance her principal's duties at Wiscasset Primary with her other work for the district? “It's going to be challenging keeping all the balls in the air, but I am going to do it,” Watts said.

Watts, 64, and Schlein, 57, said they are committed to not only working as a team together, but with staff, parents and the rest of the community as one larger, multifaceted team. Everyone has their own professional capital to contribute, Schlein said.

They cited a recent, impromptu collaboration that gave the playground a fresh coat of paint for the new school year. The volunteer effort included parents, staff and students, Schlein said.

Watts encourages parents and other community members to volunteer during the school year, from reading with students to doing some laminating.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com