Norwich — A Waterford resident has been chosen as Cranston House principal to serve as administer of the ninth grade at Norwich Free Academy, NFA announced Thursday in a news release.

Diane Giarratona was chosen from approximately 70 applicants to fill the role previously held by retired Principal Thomas O’Rourke, who oversaw the ninth-grade transition program for 16 years.

“As a middle and high school educator, I am aware of the stresses and concerns many freshmen feel as they enter high school,” Giarratona said in a prepared statement. “Ninth grade is a pivotal time for students to connect, academically and socially.”

She starts Aug. 17.

Giarratona previously served as assistant principal at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High School in the Capital Region Education Council, and was part of a team responsible for more than 750 students and 100 employees on two city campuses.

Prior to her administrative work, she was employed in Region School District 18 as a computer education teacher. She also taught math in Westbrook and worked for about ten years with CIGNA Companies in Bloomfield.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University, a master’s degree from Central Connecticut State University and an advanced degree in educational leadership from Sacred Heart University.

—Deborah Straszheim