Michelle Crawford
Ottoson Middle School 7th Grade Assistant Principal
Michelle Crawford (she/her/hers) is the new 7th Grade Assistant Principal at Ottoson Middle School. She has over 18 years of experience in PK-12 education. She has served as a public and parochial school teacher, school counselor and district administrator. Prior to joining the Ottoson Middle School team, Ms. Crawford served as the METCO Director for the Scituate Public Schools.
Ms. Crawford has served as a board member for the Roxbury Weston Programs, METCO HQ and Chair of the Boston Weston METCO Parent Organization. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate (Ed.D) for Educational Leadership at Boston College's Professional School Administrators Program. As a cisgendered, multiracial woman and an immigrant to this country, she sees the importance of having traditionally marginalized people in U.S. school and district leadership, especially as it relates to making policies and decisions that impact all learners.
Ms. Crawford lives in Boston, MA with her two sons, Jordan (18) and Austin (16), and her sassy cat, Mo. She adores the arts, being in nature, international cuisine, and learning about new people, places, cultures and ways of being.
Kaitlin Moran
K-12 History and Social Studies Director
Kaitlin Moran (she/her/hers), the new APS K-12 History and Social Studies Director, has a varied teaching background, having taught History, English as a Second Language, and Writing at the high school level. She has coordinated and taught in programs serving at-risk youth and adults, coached and developed new teachers, and served as an academic dean, among other roles. Ms. Moran also has extensive curriculum and program development experience and she is a passionate advocate for all students and their access to equitable education.
Her work has earned many commendations. Ms. Moran is the recipient of the 2018 Calderwood Prize, the 2019 Don Salvucci Award for Excellence in Promoting Civic Education from the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies, and was a 2020 semi-finalist in the Harvard University Innovation Lab’s President’s Innovation Challenge. During her tenure at the Boston Public Schools she completed the Calderwood Fellowship, a program that was run through UMASS Boston. She is also a researcher and presented her original work on using writing to increase agency in immigrant students at the Exploring Language Education Conference in Stockholm Sweden.
Ms. Moran is the co-founder of Juntos Boston, an organization that supports unaccompanied minors in finishing high school, and also the founder of sé education consulting, a boutique consulting firm that works with schools and districts to close the gaps that exist between immigrant students and their US-born peers.
Ms. Moran’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University, a Master of Arts from Brown University, and Master of Education Policy and Management from Harvard University. Originally from Vermont, Ms. Moran loves the outdoors, Peloton, and yoga, and she is very excited about joining the Arlington Schools community.
Leo Muellner
K-12 Visual Arts Director
The new APS K-12 Visual Arts Director, Leo Muellner, comes to us with 22 years of teaching and leadership experience. For the last five years he has served as the Director of Visual Arts for the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District. Before that he was Lead Teacher for Visual Arts in the Cambridge Public Schools, an Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at Prospect Hill Academy Public Charter School, and the Peers Educating Peers Coordinator at Boston Arts Academy.
Mr. Muellner has also taught visual arts, social studies, and interdisciplinary STEAM courses in the Boston and New York City public schools, as well as undergraduate and graduate teacher education courses at Boston College, Pace, and New York University. He holds a Master of Science in secondary education from The New School for Social Research, and a Bachelor of Science from New York University, where he majored in studio art and history. Mr. Muellner is also a working artist, currently focused on painting, screen printing, and digital art.
Dr. Taylor O’Brien
Stratton Assistant Principal
Dr. Taylor O’Brien joins the Arlington Public Schools administrative team as the Assistant Principal at Stratton. Originally from Sandwich, Dr. O’Brien most recently served as a third grade teacher in South Yarmouth, and before that a fifth grade teacher on Nantucket. In both locations she was involved in several efforts to develop and evaluate curriculum, and while teaching on Nantucket she served as a Director of the Curriculum Review Team. Additionally, Dr. O’Brien has worked with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a member of the MCAS Assessment Development Committee.
Dr. O’Brien completed her undergraduate degree at High Point University, her Master of Education in Elementary Education at Lesley, and her Doctor of Education at Northeastern University. She is excited to have just relocated to South Boston and when not teaching she enjoys traveling and hiking with her Mini Goldendoodle, Annie. Dr. O’Brien made good use of her time during the pandemic working on the restoration of a vintage camper, a 1969 Shasta Compact.
Jennifer Rich
Brackett Interim Assistant Principal
Mrs. Jennifer Rich, one of the two Brackett Interim Assistant Principals, knows Arlington well, having grown up here and been a student at the Hardy School. She taught primary and intermediate grades as a classroom teacher in the Andover Public School for 15 years. Recently, she worked in the Lexington Public Schools as a Math Interventionist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mrs. Rich worked with the Winchester Health Department to provide health education and guidance to families while collaborating and coordinating with a team of public health officials.
Active in the community, Mrs. Rich has served on the Board of Directors for the Neighborhood Cooperative Nursery School, served on the School Improvement Council at the Vinson Owen Elementary School, and is currently Chair of the Events Committee for GOFI, (Golden Opportunities for Independence) a non-profit organization that breeds, raises and trains service dogs for individuals and communities.
Mrs. Rich attended Boston University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, and she did her administrative internship with Dr. Eileen Woods who is the second Brackett Interim Assistant Principal. She and her husband Jeff live in Winchester and have 3 children and two dogs. Her oldest child, Sofia, is attending Villanova this month for her first year of college, her son Ethan is a rising 10th grader, and Molly is a rising 8th grader. They enjoy many sporting events as a family, including fishing trips in the summer and skiing in the winter.
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Jing-Huey Wei
Performing Arts Director
The new Arlington Public School Performing Arts Director, Jing-Huey Wei, was born and raised in Taichung, Taiwan but now calls Arlington her second home town. Ms. Wei started teaching for the APS Private Lesson Program in 1999 and became the string program/orchestra director in 2004. Since then she has led countless concerts and taught many string students (2000 plus!) in town.
Ms. Wei came to the United States to pursue viola performance at Boston University where she earned a Masters degree and did the full doctoral study under the tutelage of Boston Symphony Orchestra principal violist, Steven Ansell. As a professional violist, she performs with the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra and other chamber music groups.
Teaching string classes and conducting student orchestras for the past 20 years have provided Ms. Wei with a deep understanding of the importance of art education in schools. She truly believes that students learn life skills through art education and that through arts, young people have the opportunity to be creative, express themselves, and contribute to the community. In her new role, Ms. Wei looks forward to supporting all students and performing arts teachers by providing them with equitable opportunities that allow them to learn, create, and perform at their full potential.
Ms. Wei lives in Arlington with her husband Seth, her son Lorenzo and cat Simon and turtle Oogie. When not teaching or performing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Favorite activities include cooking and hiking.
Kim Visco
K-12 Director of Wellness
Kim Visco, the K-12 Director of Wellness, joins the administrative team in a new position that is an exciting and needed expansion of our leadership in this critical area. Ms. Visco comes prepared to partner with departments and schools across the system to ensure that our students receive an excellent education in Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences courses throughout the district.
Ms. Visco has over 20 years of teaching experience at all levels, 15 years of varsity coaching experience, and over 20 years of aquatics management experience. She has taught in the Arlington High School Wellness Program for the past 16 years, serving as their Lead teacher for the past six years.
Ms. Visco’s academic career includes Springfield College where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education in 1999. She graduated from The University of Tennessee with a Master of Science degree in Sport Management in 2004. She resides in Norwood with her wife and two children.
Dr. Eileen Woods
Brackett Interim Assistant Principal
Before coming to Arlington Public Schools as one of the two Brackett Interim Assistant Principals, Dr. EIleen Woods had a distinguished career as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and mentor. Dr. Woods retired from the Andover Public Schools after a long and celebrated career there. She served as the Principal of Sanborn Elementary School, South School, and was also the Assistant Superintendent in Andover. When the Sanborn School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School, Dr. Woods was named Massachusetts Principal of the Year and was honored at the White House. Other awards include the Pathfinder Technology Leadership Award, Andover's Unsung Hero Award, and the Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us Award.
Prior to her years in Andover, Dr. Woods worked in the Reading Public Schools as the Gifted and Talented Coordinator and a teacher in Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. She served as Interim Principal at the Dallin Elementary School and Ottoson Middle School in Arlington, as Interim Principal at the Walton School in Wakefield, and at the Driscoll School (K-8) in Brookline. Dr. Woods earned her National Board Certification in Mentoring Principals and has recently been mentoring Principals and Directors in Andover, Brookline, Salem, Watertown, and Arlington. She is a collaborative, innovative, and passionate school leader who is committed to educational excellence for all students.
Dr. Woods' received her undergraduate degree from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a minor in Education. She holds a Master of Education in School Administration from the University of Massachusetts and a Doctorate in Administration from Southeastern University. Dr. Woods grew up in Arlington, and now resides in Cambridge with her husband John. They enjoy time on the Cape with family and friends, kayaking, swimming, golfing, and reading.