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Mrs. Murray said that she grew up near Buffalo, N.Y., and then while in her 20s worked with emotionally disturbed young adults in Litchfield and Bethlehem, and purchased her first car in New Milford.
After several years in the Snake River plain in Idaho, she and her husband, Paul, a middle school teacher in Waterbury, decided to move back to the East Coast.
Mrs. Murray said that she hadn't searched for a position before they moved to Waterbury last July, and then after looking at some opportunities last fall decided that succeeding Mr. Atticks at NES would be "a dream job."
She and her husband have three daughters and one son, ranging in age from 19 to 27.
The couple is considering a move in the near future to a municipality about equal distance between their jobs.
"It's high altitude desert," Mrs. Murray said of Idaho. "It's got its own kind of beauty."
"You have intense hot, dry summers and cool, dry winters, although there is snow in the area in the winter, and two hours away there's some great skiing at Sun Valley," she said of the climate.
Mrs. Murray said that she over the years she has taught every level from kindergarten through undergraduate courses in reading at Idaho State University, except for eighth grade.
"The state is on the forefront of a lot of good things happening in education," she said of Idaho's commitment to learning.
Mrs. Murray said that educators can form a close bond with elementary school students.
"Children this age are so open and innocent," she said. "There's a lot of magic. They're not self-conscious."
Mrs. Murray said that she recommends active learning through independent projects, discussion groups and technology at all levels.
"What is the teacher doing to engage students is the key," she said. "It doesn't matter what age.
"It's hard to sit and listen to lecture," Mrs. Murray said. "Even for adults it's hard to do that."
She said that one of the biggest challenges facing educators is "determining how we prepare students for jobs that don't even exist right now."
For example, Thomas Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, has said that when former President Bill Clinton took office in 1993 there were only 50 Web Sites in the world. By the time he left office eight years later there were more than 2 billion Web Sites.
"So much of the education system focuses now on collaboration, working together as a team, and analytical thinking," Mrs. Murray said regarding the emphasis on developing skills for a work force that is largely devoted to digital technology.
To that goal, she said that she is pleased that NES and many other elementary schools are teaching keyboard skills.
"They need to learn it at that age, otherwise, they're doing the old hunt and peck," Mrs. Murray said. "They need to learn the home keys."
"It's much easier to teach it and have them do it the right way at a young age," she said.
NES promotes character education through by devoting each month to a different theme.
Citizenship is the focus this month and integrity is the topic for next month.
Mrs. Murray said similar programs have been successful in schools where she has worked.
"We can't just assume that all of these are going to be absorbed with all of the items we have to cover in the curriculum," she said. "We need to be explicit, and we need to reinforce it."
Mrs. Murray said that her initial goal is "to get acquainted with the New Milford context. "I'm still learning the names and what the traditions are here."
She said she also wants to get more knowledge on how student achievement is tested both formally and informally here "How do we know students are learning?
"Not just the CMT," she said regarding the annual Connecticut Mastery Test that is administered each March through the state Department of Education. "I also want to be able to determine what we are doing in the classroom on an ongoing basis to monitor student learning."
The school welcomed her through a meet and greet with students and parents Feb. 19 and this last Monday the staff held a coffee hour for her before the academic day began.
"The staff here is just wonderful, warm and open," Mrs. Murray.
She also had transition meetings with Mr. Atticks prior to his retirement.
"What a legacy he left here," Mrs. Murray said. "The culture is so warm and nurturing for children."
