In September, Waterford Public Schools welcomed new superintendent Mr. Thomas W. Giard III. Mr. Giard, a Connecticut native, has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent before accepting the position here.

If you are a student, you have probably seen him either walking the hall or sitting in on a meeting. One of his goals is to a be visible and communicative superintendent. He wants to be present in schools for the students and staff, and wants to listen to them before making big decisions.

Mr. Giard has goals to help better our schools; however, this year, he is trying to get a feel for the district before implementing new goals. He wants to increase the amount of technology available to students to aid their learning. He wants every student to have the best education possible by giving them a wide array of opportunities that can help them after their time in the school system is over. He is a big supporter of art, music, and tech classes and wants to offer as many as possible.

Overall, Giard wants students and staff enjoy their learning and working environments. He stated, “I want to make sure we have schools that staff and students are happy to come to.”  

Through teaching and administrating in several other school districts, Mr. Giard has gained a great deal of experience; however, his work was not his only source of training. Mr. Giard gained leadership skills after managing a campaign for state representative at 19 years old. He also coached sports and volunteered in his mother’s classroom when he was younger. All these experiences prepared our superintendent to have the leadership skills necessary to run our schools successfully.  

He admits that in the beginning meeting and talking to everyone was nerve wracking, but he was kindly welcomed and at this point he is feeling settled. He is grateful for his Central Office staff and credits them with being a huge support for him. He is also grateful for the mentors he has had.

His wife and daughter have been supportive of him throughout his career. Family is important to him and he tries to make as much time for them as possible. In his free time, he enjoys golf and other outdoor activities. He also likes reading and, of course, spending time with his family.