Welcome students, families, and community members!

It is my honor and privilege to serve as your principal for the 2023-2024 school year. I look forward to building relationships with all of you throughout this year and help affirm what a wonderful place North Branford Intermediate School is. It is my hope that you will find our school to be one that is engaging, one that challenges you academically and socially, and one that offers you a caring place that you feel connected to and allows you to challenge yourself and grow. The staff and I commit to helping you find success throughout your experience and we are all here for you at all times.

It is my true honor to share in helping you learn the "Davis Way" - a foundational philosophy that permeates our entire school. The Davis Way, named after longtime educator and administrator in North Branford - Alan Davis - (a truly wonderful man I was fortunate to have as a teacher, mentor, and colleague and who helped to shape the person I am today), embodies integrity, humility, and the symbolic meaning of the hawk itself: wisdom, focusing on the task at hand and using the power of observation. In addition to these attributes, the Davis Way affirms that school is a place for learning, growing, laughing, belonging, and generosity of heart. You will learn that these are not just words, but a way of life and a way of being that ensures we all treat each other with respect, care, and acceptance. We will all commit to these ideals as a school community and use them as guiding force in helping us grow from setbacks and challenges.

I encourage you all to get involved in our school community and connect with this amazing school and the incredible individuals within it. There are many opportunities through clubs, activities, athletics, community service, classroom activities, and whole school events. As parents/guardians, encouraging this connection and involvement for your children should be an important priority as it is a research proven strategy to help adolescents battle through the challenges of middle school including anxieties, worries, social isolation, peer conflicts, and finding themselves and their places.

I look forward to seeing you all throughout the year and partnering with you in your educational journey!

Thank you,

Carter Welch, Ed.D.