Diane Chamberlain new head of Summit Academy

Diane Chamberlain kicked off the year as the new principal at Summit Academy, a small public day school affiliated with ARPS that serves students in grades 6-12 in a therapeutic setting. Chamberlain has worked as an administrator in the district for decades and applied for this job to replace David Slovin, the long-time Summit principal who retired in June.

Chamberlain’s job involves overseeing the day-to-day operations of the school, supervising staff, leading community meetings, attending administrative meetings, interacting with students, and addressing the community’s needs. This includes facing problems that arise and supporting students who struggle, all while ensuring the school’s safety. “There are no two days that are the same, which is the best part of the job,” said Chamberlain. 

Chamberlain grew up in Colchester, CT, but said she was eager to leave home and branch out. This led her to the University of Connecticut for her undergraduate studies, where she majored in English. “I read a lot of books,” said Chamberlain. She then went to graduate school at San Francisco State University to study special education and school administration. 

She was 23 when she decided to further her career in education. “All through college, I said I wasn’t going to become a teacher, and then I had an opportunity to become a paraeducator right out of college, which led me to continue to further my career. It all started in San Francisco,” said Chamberlain. 

Eventually, she became not just a special education teacher but an administrator, later moving to Amherst and then Leverett, and working at numerous schools in the district over the past 20 years. She started as a Program Coordinator at the South Amherst Campus, located on South East Street in Amherst. This program later moved to ARHS in 2015 and was renamed Summit Academy. However, Chamberlain had already shifted roles; she worked as an assistant principal at ARMS and then at ARHS before assuming her longest administrative role as principal at Fort River.

However, in an adventurous move, she and her family spent two years working at an international school in Thailand, which she described as having an “amazing quality of life.” She, her husband, and their children ultimately returned for a stint as the principal at Wildwood, the job she had before landing at Summit. For her, changing jobs so frequently allowed her to acquire new skills as she tested out new work environments.

Something she loves about Summit is the community. “Summit is small, allowing us to interact with people on a specific and individualized level. Each individual contributes to the larger community,” she said. A challenge with her new job is “not knowing exactly what to do yet and getting reacquainted with the needs of the program,” said Chamberlain.

Outside of her active work life,  Chamberlain has two sons, a husband, and a dog.  “We are adventurers in spirit, I’d like to think,” she said. She enjoys being active, learning, and socializing, and often listens to music, favoring a broad range of genres. “I’ll see almost anybody live,” said Chamberlain.  

Her favorite season is summer because she likes the heat, likes to go to the beach, and enjoys relaxing. “It’s our downtime as educators, time to get refueled,” she said.

Chamberlain said above all, she is approachable. “I like to say hi to people in the hallway,” she said. “I hope to continue to grow the community, and I want others to know that I’m responsive and will help them attain their goals.”