Old Lyme elementary school named 1 of the state's best

Old Lyme — Center School has been named a 2012 Co-Elementary School of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools.

The nonprofit group typically recognizes one school each year, but this year, Center School is sharing the distinction with the Thomas Hooker Elementary School in Meriden. The schools were selected from a pool of more than 460 eligible Connecticut elementary schools, according to a press release from Regina S. Birdsell, the association’s assistant executive director.

The award is based on an application made by the school along with a site visit by association officials.

Both schools “excelled in meeting the needs of their students and communities and in employing cutting edge instructional strategies, data driven decision making, and exemplary school climate practices,” Birdsell wrote.

Center School, a third- through fifth-grade school, is slated to become a preschool and Central Office space within five years as part of a move to redistrict Lyme-Old Lyme’s three elementary schools.

Center School principal Christopher Pomroy, meanwhile, has been appointed as the new principal of the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School. He will fill a vacancy left behind by former principal Jeff Ostroff.

Center and Thomas Hooker will be recognized on Nov. 21 at the CAS Elementary Program Recognition Banquet in Southington.