Norwalk BOE Approves Sandra Faioes as New Deputy Superintendent

I am incredibly fortunate to have been a part of this community for more than ten years and I’m privileged to continue serving the district as your new deputy superintendent,” Faioes said. “While education has the potential to be an equalizer, it's important to acknowledge that not all education systems are created equal. Luckily here in Norwalk, we have a superintendent dedicated to putting students at the center of our work, a Board of Education equally dedicated to that mission, and an unmatched commitment from our city.”

Faioes added, “Our work would not be successful without the support from our community and I thank you all for your commitment to our students and our schools. I look forward to working with Dr. Estrella and this incredible district to bring our students the best educational experience.”

Faioes succeeds Dr. Thomas McBryde who was recently appointed as the new superintendent of Hackensack Public Schools in Hackensack, New Jersey. Faioes will continue to oversee the district’s facilities and operations departments in addition to her new responsibilities. 

Faioes joined Norwalk Public Schools in 2013 after starting her career in education in the Boston Public Schools system. In Boston, she was a high school teacher for English, Humanities, and English as a second language.

Faioes began her work in Norwalk as an instructional coach and reading specialist at the Richard C. Briggs High School for two years. She then became assistant principal and later principal of Brookside Elementary School for four years, increasing the school’s performance from a Category 3 school to a Category 2 by improving reading math scores as measured by the Next Generation Accountability System.

Faioes was named the Director of School Improvement in 2019, evaluating all school principals and collaborating with them to create school improvement plans. She also played an integral role in the reopening of schools during the pandemic, designing, writing and implementing the health and safety protocols for summer and fall 2020 classes.

In 2020, Estrella named Faioes as the Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations where she has led the strategic management of all facilities and grounds, transportation, food services, health services, grants, athletics, school safety and partnerships with local law enforcement.

The Norwalk BOE also approved the appointment of Veronica Lenzen as a new Education Administrator of Specialized Learning.

Lenzen joined Norwalk Public Schools five years ago as a special education administrator and has developed and implemented the post high school transition programs including Next Steps, Project Search at Norwalk Hospital, and Project Search at CT State Community College Norwalk. She’ll continue to support those transition programs as well as specialized learning in the high schools.

“She has helped to develop a lot of our 18-22 programs to really be a model to the state. We’re very excited to have her take on this new role,” Rob Pennington, Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Norwalk Public Schools, said during the special board meeting.

“She has brought three very unique and incredible transition programs to and through Norwalk that have become the model for transition programming in the state of Connecticut but also at the national level. We celebrate the success of our individuals through these programs because of the heavy lift and hard work that Veronica guides us through,” said Bridget Adams, the Executive Director of Specialized Learning for Norwalk Public Schools.

Lenzen has dedicated 26 years to education. She began her career as a special education teacher for nearly 10 years, serving in a state approved special education school and later in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was the Supervisor of Specialized Instruction for The Bridgeport Learning Center, leading special education programs for students in grades K-12.

Prior to her arrival in Norwalk, Lenzen served as the Interim Director of Special Education for Bridgeport Public Schools, providing district-level leadership for the development, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of specialized instructional services.