Greenwich Resident Is Named New Western MS Principal

Greenwich resident Gordon Beinstein, who began his teaching career here in the Greenwich Public School system, is to return the district as the principal for Western Middle School.

His appointment is effective July 1, replacing Terry Starr-Klein who is retiring. Beinstein is principal of Harborside Middle School in Milford, a post he has held since 2009. He has been a middle school educator for 25 years, spending the first 14 years with the Greenwich school district.

In announcing the appointment late Wednesday, Greenwich Superintendent William McKersie said, “Mr. Beinstein has demonstrated success in improving student performance with a diverse middle school population, a group of youngsters to which he is clearly committed. He is an adept school leader, an experienced Greenwich Public Schools educator, and as a Greenwich resident, he is knowledgeable about the community. I am pleased to welcome Gordon Beinstein back to the Greenwich Public Schools.”

In a prepared statement released by Greenwich school officials, Beinstein said, “I am excited to be the next principal of Western Middle School. My entire 25-year career has been spent working with this impressionable age group. The excitement they bring to school energizes me and inspires me to do my best for
every child every day."

Beinstein added, "I want to thank Dr. McKersie and the interview committee for this opportunity and I look forward to meeting the dedicated staff, committed parents and enthusiastic students at Western very soon.”

The Greenwich hiring process included interviews of internal and external candidates by a committee that included, district administrators, WMS teachers and parents, and representatives of the Greenwich Education Association and Greenwich Organization of School Administrators, as well as a site visit to Harborside by McKersie, Deputy Superintendent Ellen Flanagan and WMS teacher and parent representatives.

Beinstein began his career in education at Greenwich's Central Middle School (CMS) in 1988. For 14 years he taught math, language arts, and social studies, and acted as Team Leader and Social Studies Department Chair at CMS. From 1990 to 2002, he also served as the director for the Town of Greenwich Summer Camp, Kamp Kairphree.

In 2002, he became an assistant principal at John Read Middle School in Redding, and then served six years as Middlesex Middle School principal in Darien.

In 2009, Bernstein was appointed principal of the Harborside Middle School in Milford. Under his leadership, Harborside has experienced a three-year increase in academic achievement in grades 6-8 and all subject areas on the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMT), according to information provided by Greenwich Public Schools. "Harborside is one of the top performing ‘Title I’ middle schools in the
State with 95% of students achieving the CMT Proficient standard, and over 80% at the Goal or Mastery standard," according to the district's statement.

He was responsible for restructuring Harborside's teacher teams to focus on student data in order to drive instructional practices, and expanded both academic and extracurricular after school opportunities for students at Harborside, doubling the number of students who remained after school for academic support and activities, according to the announcement.

Even though he hasn't taught in Greenwich in 11 years, Beinstein has remained familiar with its workings. He and his wife Kathleen, and their three children, live in Greenwich. Kathleen Beinstein, who has worked for the Greenwich district for more than 20 years, is a reading specialist at the Hamilton Avenue School. Their three children are enrolled in the Greenwich Public School system.

Western Middle School parent Kati Bennett said in a prepared statement, “Having worked in middle schools his entire career, he has a complete understanding of how a middle school should run and the needs of the middle school child. He is a Greenwich native and has worked in Greenwich Public Schools and therefore knows the unique nuances of the Greenwich community.”

Gordon Beinstein earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Connecticut at Storrs in 1988; a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Bridgeport in 1992, and a sixth-year degree in educational leadership from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven in 1997.