Hall High School principal announces departure, interim principal appointed – We-Ha

West Hartford School Superintendent Paul Vicinus has announced the departure of Dan Zittoun to an administrative position in another district and has named Sarah Isaacs interim principal of Hall High School.

Sarah Isaacs. Photo courtesy of

By Ronni Newton

When students return to Hall High School in West Hartford in late August, there will be a new leader at the school for the first time in more than a decade.

Dan Zittoun, who served as Hall’s principal for 11 years, has announced he is leaving the district to become assistant superintendent of finance and operations for Farmington Public Schools.

School Principal Paul Vicinus shared the news with the Hall High School community and school board late Friday night. He praised Zittoun’s accomplishments and “legacy of excellence” and expressed gratitude for Zittoun’s leadership.

“While I am certainly sad to say goodbye to Dan, I could not be happier for him and congratulate him on this wonderful professional opportunity,” Vicinus wrote. “It is with sincere gratitude that I recall his 11-year tenure and the many wonderful accomplishments the Hall Community has accumulated under Dan’s leadership. From honors and awards in the fine and performing arts, to state championships in athletics and national recognition in academics, Hall High has flourished for more than a decade under Dan’s tenure. He has left an indelible mark on Hall and the entire West Hartford community.”

In a public post on his Facebook and Instagram pages on Sunday morning, Zittoun wrote, “It would be impossible to thank all of the people who have made this journey an incredible experience for my family and me. I have worked with so many amazing people who will continue to inspire me to be a better leader, educator, husband, father and person. I am excited to join another incredible community and continue to grow professionally and personally.”

Within an hour, the announcements on social media received hundreds of ‘likes’ and hundreds of comments congratulating Zittoun, highlighting his impressive legacy and wishing him every success in his new role.

Vicinus also announced that Sarah Isaacs, who has served as assistant principal at Hall since 2018, has been named interim principal. While a formal search process will begin next spring to engage the community, “the immediate charge was to identify a highly skilled, dedicated, and highly talented individual to lead Hall in the interim,” he said, noting that Isaacs “has distinguished herself among her peers based on her wealth of talents, her passion and dedication, and her demonstrated level of care and commitment to students and families.”

Isaacs, a West Hartford resident since 2007, has been with the district for 15 years, most of her career in education, beginning as a middle school language arts teacher at King Philip. As an assistant principal at Hall, she has led the Culturally Responsive Instructional Team and served as the liaison for Hall’s PTO for the past six years. She has also led the district’s Teacher Induction Program and presented at national conferences. Outside of the classroom, she has also served as an athletic coach, TEAM mentor, and curriculum author.

“I’m very excited,” Isaacs said Sunday afternoon. She said she’s looking forward to this new role. “Being a part of what we do with the kids every day is the best part,” she said, adding that the students and staff at Hall make working there so rewarding.

“Paul and the management team have been so incredibly supportive,” Isaacs said, and that support will ensure her success in this interim role, she said.

Isaacs holds a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and a sixth-grade certificate in educational leadership—all from the University of Connecticut. She and her husband, Aaron, live in the Hall district and have three children who will become future Titans.

Both Hall and Conard have new principals to start the 2024-2025 school year, and both are women. In June, Jocelyn Tamborello-Noble, who had been serving in an interim role since late 2023, was officially named principal at Conard.

Isaacs said she and Tamborello-Noble know each other well and recently gave a presentation together in Los Angeles on student voices. “Jocelyn and I get along really well … I’m really excited and excited to work together again.”

Vicinus told We-Ha.com that there are “big shoes” to fill as Zittoun’s successor at Hall, but has confidence in Isaacs’ leadership. “Sarah is our No. 1 prospect and I’m very excited,” he said.

“I’m very, very proud of Isaacs and excited for Dan,” said Vicinus.

Isaacs’s move to the role of principal leaves a vacancy for an assistant principal, a role she said she hopes to fill before the start of the school year.

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