Rubino

The new assistant principal at Ottoson, Rochelle Rubino, brings to the middle school and background in education and journalism.

"I am excited to join the administrative team at the Ottoson Middle School," she told YourArlington on Aug. 13. "I look forward to sharing my passion for school leadership and teaching and learning with the staff and students in Arlington."

She joins the new principal, Brian Meringer, who announced the appointment to parents on Friday, Aug. 10. Assistant Principal Jack Flood left in June to be principal of the Weymouth Middle School.

She has a certificate of advanced graduate studies in educational leadership from Salem State University and has more than decade of experience teaching English language arts to middle school students in Ipswich and Revere, Meringer wrote.

While in Ipswich, where she taught most recently, she served on a variety of leadership positions, including the districtwide curriculum committee, the professional learning committee and the technology committee. She was also the grade six team leader.

Meringer

She has directed and facilitated professional development courses and presented at the New England League of Middle Schools on the use of Socratic Seminar, Meringer wrote.

Rubino wrote that she began her educational career in Revere, teaching English and journalism at the Rumney Marsh Academy, one of the city’s middle schools. After her second child was born, she taught ELA in Ipswich.

In addition, she has a background in journalism. "After finishing my undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire, I worked as a writer for the Portsmouth Herald before taking an editing position with the Boston Herald for its website. I still freelance here and there, though I plan to put that on hold for awhile to focus on my new position."

Meringer, who began work as Ottoson principal at the beginning of July, said 56 applied for the position. Eight were interviewed, and three were named finalists. The three, who were not named, were interviewed Aug. 1.

Meringer, who accepted the position of principal at Ottoson in February, had been assistant headmaster of the Dover Sherborn Middle School.

This announcement was published Monday, July 30, 2018, and updated to a news summary Wednesday, Aug. 15.