Dear Camden Middle School Families,

My name is Brittany DerCola and I am so excited to introduce myself as the new principal of Camden Middle School. I am honored to have been selected to join the Camden School District, which is known far and wide for its dedication to excellence, but more importantly, to children. Over the past 10 years, I have worked as a teacher and administrator, but I consider my most important job to be that of a child advocate. I plan to spend a lot of time with your children, getting to know them both academically and personally. I look forward to learning their personalities, learning styles and interests. I will celebrate their successes and work with them through their challenges. I will encourage them every day and let them know they are valued and have a special place in our school community.

Not only am I excited to begin working with your children, but I look forward to the work we will do together as a team. As the old African Proverb states, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I am excited to see your children through your eyes and get to know all the things that you love about them. I want to learn about your hopes and dreams for your children and help you help them reach these dreams. I cannot wait to share with you the great things they do while here at Camden Middle School. And of course, I will be here to work with you should they need any help along the way.

My goal is to ensure that all children are healthy, happy and safe, so they may learn as much as they can and reach their full potential. This has been my focus since I began my career as a special education teacher at Holland Patent Middle School. I worked at Holland Patent CSD for five years at both the middle and elementary levels. I worked with a variety of students, worked hard to develop relationships and help them achieve their goals. I then moved to Herkimer BOCES where I served as the Supervisor of Special Programs and Principal of VP-TECH Early College High School and Special Education. In my time as a teacher and administrator at Holland Patent CSD and Herkimer BOCES, I have had the privilege of watching hundreds of students grow and develop into the best version of themselves, setting goals, achieving goals and reaching dreams. However, my greatest achievement comes not professionally, but personally as I am the mother of a beautiful little boy, Maverick, who is 15 months old. I have always heard teachers and other administrators say that they strive to treat all children as if they were their own, but I never truly understood this until 15 months ago, when Maverick was born. I now fully understand this and will truly treat each of your children as if they were one of my own. Please know I will work tirelessly to ensure all your children have the best possible experiences while at Camden Middle School.

Once again, I am so thankful to have the opportunity to bring all that I have experienced and learned with me to this wonderful school and community. I look forward to getting to know you and your children. I will be working most days this summer to ensure for a smooth transition and opening in September. Please stop by and say hello!

Best Regards,

Brittany DerCola