Every time Michael Emery drives through Navy housing toward Charles Barnum Elementary School, it takes him back in time.

Emery, the school's new principal, relates to what military families go through because he's lived it; it was one of the reasons he applied for the job. His father was in the Navy for 30 years.

"To me, as a little kid, the only day that was better than Christmas was the day when your father was coming home," said Emery, Groton's former district math coordinator for grades 6-12. Students and parents of the 400-student school, comprised largely of military families, will meet him in the coming weeks.

He is one of two new principals starting this fall. Peter Bass, a former assistant principal at Robert E. Fitch High School, also takes over as principal of Carl C. Cutler Middle School.

"Cutler has had a history of success, and we're hoping to build on that," Bass said. "We're not going to make any changes overnight. But we will grow together."

Emery has worked in public education for 35 years. He spent 17 years as a math teacher at Montville High School and more time at Fitch High School, serving as chairman of the math department at Fitch for eight years and as athletic director for some of that time. He later became an assistant principal at Fitch, before taking over as district-wide math coordinator last year.

Change has been good for him, he said.

"I think actually the thing that has helped me not just stick with it, but also enjoy it and be enthusiastic about it, are the job changes," said Emery, 57, of Waterford. "It doesn't feel like 35 years to me."

He doesn't plan any changes at Barnum except a boost in the math curriculum, his specialty. He'd like students to focus more on "fluency," or learning certain skills backward and forward.

Students would still learn math concepts and how to apply math, but would also spend time on 1-minute drills to learn math facts, he said.

"The problem is, when application came in, this stuff went out," he said.

Charles Barnum celebrates 50 years at the end of this school year, having opened in 1965. Emery plans to not only celebrate the occasion, but make it an academic exercise, asking students questions such as, "What was Groton like in 1965? How many people were on the sub base? How much did a loaf of bread cost?"

"That leads to a nice discussion of inflation," Emery said.

Bass, 44, of Old Lyme, spent 13 years in the district as an administrator. He began his teaching career in East Lyme at Flanders School , where he worked for one year as an intern and eight years as a teacher. His first experience in Groton was coaching the lacrosse team for high school-age boys, before Fitch had a lacrosse team.

Bass then began eight years in elementary school administration, serving as interim principal of the former Noank School and as assistant principal of Mary Morrison, Pleasant Valley and Charles Barnum elementary schools. Afterward, he worked for four years as an assistant principal at Fitch.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he said. "Groton is an exciting, dynamic place to be, especially now."

Bass said he's excited about being with the district as it works with a new superintendent, looks at its facilities and focuses on teaching and learning.

"I know that I'm going to stay consistent to my values," he said of his work at Cutler. "What people can predict and rely on from me is consistent, open communication."

D.STRASZHEIM@THEDAY.COM

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