After Faith Fellowship Christian School unexpectedly lost its principal, Donald R. Cronk, in March from lung cancer, a group of employees banded together to continue operating the small Watertown school and Theodore F. Curinga II emerged as the new principal.

"When Mr. Cronk died, we all worked together to keep the school going," Mr. Curinga said. "It was rough trying to figure out what we were going to do, especially trying to figure out all the state details about Regents testing and funding."

Leaders from other schools — South Jefferson Superintendent Jamie A. Moesel and Watertown Assistant Superintendent Marilyn H. Trainor — came to the school to help sort out what would happen, and they moved on.

Mr. Curinga has been teaching history at the school for 14 years and wanted to continue teaching and coaching soccer while running the school.

"It's challenging," he said. "I've tried to find people who know about some of these things, and I'm delegating some of the responsibility."

Mr. Curinga came to Faith Fellowship after teaching in Bolivia for two years.

"I loved it there," he said. "I wanted to stay there forever, but my wife didn't like it, so I applied here. I wanted to work for a place where Christian kids have a place to learn, can express their Christianity and feel free doing so."

Mr. Curinga is the son of a military man and spent much of his childhood moving from place to place. He spent the majority of his childhood in Georgia.

He said his favorite thing about Faith Fellowship is the diversity of the student body and teachers.

"We're a non-denominational school but we have a variety of churches represented here and we have a very diverse student body," he said.

Mr. Curinga said that as principal he wants to keep things basically the same as they were under Mr. Cronk while making small adjustments.

"We're trying to reassert the original purpose of the school which is to be the extension of Christ's family," Mr. Curinga said. "It's easy to say what I'd like to see done and just stay here in my classroom. If I don't like what's going on I can close my door. But what's challenging is stepping up and doing something about it."

This fall the school is implementing a universal prekindergarten program and a new daycare program, which will be run in the house next door recently purchased by the school.