SWAMPSCOTT — What happens when the principal comes out as transgender?

When Stanley Elementary School’s principal, Tom Daniels,announced this month he would henceforth be known as Shannon, his community tried to shrug. “He’s a nice guy,’’ one man told WBZ-TV. “I’m sure he’ll be a nice woman.’’

But behind closed doors, some parents fumbled for the appropriate pronouns and fumed about the abruptness of the news. How were they supposed to translate this to kindergartners by the start of school the next morning?

Shannon Daniels is the principal of the Stanley Elementary School. —John Tlumacki/Globe Staff