Starting next week, school officials in Springfield, Massachusetts, will hold meetings to hear from the public as part of its search for a new superintendent.
The first of five such meetings held by an Ad Hoc Superintendent Selection Advisory Committee, made up of school committee members, is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Van Sickle Middle School at The Springfield Renaissance School.
Joesiah Gonzalez, the vice-chair of the school committee, said the meetings will give teachers, students and other Springfield residents a platform to express what they want from a new superintendent.
“I think what we’re looking for is that genuine collaboration,” Gonzalez said. “I think that’s what makes us stronger is when we have those exchanges of ideas, and be able to walk away with some key highlights to hear what the community is looking towards.”
Gonzalez also said the committee is looking for a candidate who will “build upon some of the successes that we’ve had as a school district in terms of improving the graduation rate.”
“I think we need an innovative leader to come in,” Gonzalez said. “The workforce and the world that our students are entering into after their K-12 education is a world that is constantly changing and the system that educates them should be reflective of that change.”
Applications are open and are currently being screened by a separate committee made up of community members. In April, the screening committee will begin interviewing applicants. It will forward between three and five candidates.
The Springfield School Committee plans to have a special meeting May 30 to publicly interview finalists and vote to appoint one as the new superintendent.
The current superintendent, Daniel Warwick, is retiring at the end of this school year.
