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Genet Principal Wayne GrignonAfter serving four years as principal of Howard L. Goff Middle School, Wayne Grignon is now the principal of Citizen Genet Elementary School. Mr. Grignon transferred buildings on July 1, going back to his roots in elementary education.

We sat down with Mr. Grignon recently to discuss his new position.

Q: How is the job going so far?
A: It’s going great. The transition was seamless from Goff to Genet. I spent time at both schools the first two weeks of July just making sure that everything was setup for Goff as far as student schedules, working with Mrs. Barker, Mr. Neumann and Mrs. Hoffman, making sure they have everything that they need, and then getting acclimated here by working with Mrs. Mancino, meeting with teachers and staff. Everyone has been really great during this transition.

Q: And speaking of the transition, how was it working with Mrs. Yeomans prior to her retirement?
A: Mrs. Yeomans was fantastic. She involved me in a lot of decisions for the 2019-20 school year, the master schedule, staffing and class lists. She created a binder of what to expect for each month and really helped me with the transition.

Q: How have your teaching and administrative experiences helped prepare you for this position?
A: Prior to becoming an administrator, I was actually an elementary teacher for several years. I’ve been a reading teacher, special education teacher and classroom teacher so I’m really excited to get back to my elementary roots.

Q: While you were at Goff Middle School, there were a number of new initiatives started there – MAP, pilot of the chromebook program, Backpack Program, Character Education program – is there anything new you want to bring to Genet?
A: I know that Genet had a Backpack Program in the past to help students in need. I would love to revisit that with our staff to see if we could get that back up and running this school year.

Wayne Grignon speaking from podiumQ: Is that because you started that at Goff last year and saw the benefits of that program?
A: Yes. Mr. Eggleston, our social worker, helped pioneer that with myself and the rest of our staff so I’d love to work with the wonderful faculty and staff here at Genet, to figure out how we can bring that program here to benefit our students.

Q: What are you most looking forward to this school year?
A: I am most excited about coming back to where I started as a teacher and being a part of an elementary school. I am looking forward to working with the elementary students, our dedicated Genet team and providing amazing educational opportunities for our kids.

Q: I know you like to dress up in costumes at school, how excited are you for the Genet Halloween Parade, and do you have a costume in mind?
A: Yes. I’ve already thought about what I may dress up as for Halloween this year, but I need to talk with the office staff to see what they’ve done in the past. I know last year Mrs. Yeomans and the faculty did a wonderful job as the 101 Dalmations. But I do have something up my sleeve. I’ll keep it under wraps for now.

Q: Is there anything else you want to mention?
A: I’m extremely thankful for this opportunity that Mr. Simons and the Board of Education have given me. I’m very humbled by the outreach of support from not only the families and staff at Goff Middle School, but also the new families at Genet and this wonderful staff. I wish my Goff family all the best for the upcoming school year!