Natasha Vaughn is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Benjamin F. Bragg has been appointed superintendent of the Germantown Central School District, effective November 7. Bragg, 48, is currently serving as principal of Catskill High School. He succeeds longtime superintendent Susan Brown, who will retire at the end of October. “I think it’s important to be transparent and coherent and listen very closely and then empower those who have the ability to reach those students every day,” Bragg said. “I think it’s important to try to understand what the needs are and then build and set goals to meet and then exceed those.” The Germantown school board chose Bragg during a special meeting held October 7. He previously served as a middle school principal and director of leadership development in the Charleston County School District in South Carolina from 2005 to 2018. He was also employed as a middle-school principal in Goshen Central School District and dean of students at the Highland Central School District. He began his career as a physical education teacher and coach in the Wappingers Falls Central School District. Bragg is a graduate of Ithaca College. He earned a graduate degree in administration leadership from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and in professional studies in humanistic education from the SUNY New Paltz. The board’s search for a new superintendent began in June and 197 people in the community submitted feedback through an online survey about the characteristics they wanted to see in the next superintendent, Board of Education President Tammi Kellenbenz said. The board received more than 20 applications for the position. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.