Principal Message

Manhattan Families, 

I am so honored and excited to serve our community as Manhattan Middle School’s principal. I am coming back to Manhattan after five years working as an Assistant Principal at Monarch High School here in Boulder Valley School District (BVSD). Prior to that I was the ILC teacher at Manhattan. Both of my boys also attended Manhattan prior to attending Monarch so coming back to Manhattan really feels like I am coming home. 

I have a multitude of experiences that led me to leadership. For 18 years I taught special education in several different districts and states. I often would lead special education teams and enjoyed leadership roles where I could get them. Eventually, I made the decision to enroll in a cohort through BVSD at the University of Colorado Denver’s Education Leadership and Policy Studies program, which served as the pathway for me to understand school and instructional leadership. This program really helped me prepare for my work as an administrator. After that I chose to then pursue a doctoral degree in Special Education and focused my research in evaluation. I feel that this has given me a much wider lens in the area of Special Education and added to my scope. 

My time as an administrator in BVSD has also given me the opportunity to be involved in different committees and advisory teams where I have helped plan, coordinate and discuss systems that work for our students. As an equity facilitator I have been able to work with staff from multiple schools on providing equitable and restorative practice strategies and professional development to promote a sense of belonging for all staff and students. As equity and belonging are part of the district strategic plan, I have been tasked with finding ways to incorporate more solution-based activities to address equity and belonging needs within our school buildings as well as our surrounding community. 

As a dual language school, Manhattan has the opportunity to develop two languages for our students that will help us achieve our goals of bilingualism and biliteracy, high academic achievement and a love for diversity. Our staff is committed to ensuring that all students have the tools they need to experience academic success while also feeling a sense of belonging. Our parent and family communities serve a vital role in the contributions to a successful educational experience for our students, and I am really looking forward to what we can accomplish together. 

Manhattan Middle School is such a unique and amazing place. I feel very fortunate to be able to lead here and I look forward to all the opportunities I will have in this part of my professional journey. I look forward to another fantastic year! 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Cara Maronek, Ed.D.

Principal - Manhattan Middle School of Arts and Academics