GREENFIELD — School Committee members voted Wednesday evening to appoint eight residents to serve on the Superintendent Screening Committee, a move expected to advance the School Department’s efforts to hire a permanent superintendent.
Of the 21 applications the department received from those wishing to serve on the ad hoc committee, School Committee Vice Chair Stacey Sexton recommended that Toheeb Bakare, Lamar Batiste, Tara Cloutier, Alan Gates, Amanda Helie, Lucy Reinhold, Ashli Stempel and Keith Urkiel be appointed. Sexton, Ann Childs and Ginny Desorgher from the Greenfield School Committee are also serving on the ad hoc board.
All School Committee members, with the exception of Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad, who abstained from voting, chose to approve the recommended candidates.
Sexton explained that the process of forming the screening committee, as well as a profile outlining the particular qualities the community would like to see in its next superintendent, came amid a thorough engagement process, which included a community survey and five focus group sessions.
“Our community really put their hearts and their thoughts, their passion and belief in what our schools need into these responses, and they wrote paragraphs,” Sexton said of the community survey, which received 107 responses. “I’m really pleased and impressed with the outcome and how much participation we were able to achieve with this effort.”
Summarizing the particular qualities community members reported they wanted to see in the next superintendent, Sexton said residents generally want a superintendent who is experienced in educational and collaborative leadership, understands inclusionary practices and is skilled in operational management.
“All of that information was then taken by Judy [Paolucci], who is our representative from [the New England School Development Council] and put together to create our candidate profile,” Sexton said. “Our community is looking for someone who is willing to reach out and say, ‘Can we work together?’ As well as somebody who is willing to make sure that our teachers and students feel a sense of belonging in our schools.”
At a community focus group held at the Greenfield High School library last week, Paolucci asked residents which qualities they would like to see in the future superintendent, and what immediate goals the right candidate should meet within his or her first year on the job. She then gave the participants stickers and asked them to vote on which qualities and goals are most important to them.
In terms of qualities residents would like to see in the next superintendent, most participants agreed it is important to build a culture that “supports deep learning” and promotes diversity, can “empower and engage” students and staff, welcomes challenges, and makes an effort to be present and engaging in classrooms and at community events.
“Once we get the data from the survey and we talk to people in groups, we will write out a profile of the ideal candidate for Greenfield. A lot of people think, ‘Oh, every district is going to have the same thing,’ but it doesn’t end up being true, because each district has their own needs,” Paolucci said last week. “Even the needs of Greenfield five years from now are going to be different than its needs right now.”
Roland Joyal Jr. has been serving as interim superintendent since the departure of Karin Patenaude in July.
Those interested in applying to become the district’s next superintendent have until Dec. 1 to submit their applications. Sexton explained that on Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, the Superintendent Screening Committee will meet to draft interview questions for superintendent candidates and review the applications.
The week of Dec. 15, Sexton said the ad hoc committee will begin its first round of candidate interviews, working toward the goal of bringing a list of finalists before the School Committee by the end of that week.
After returning from a holiday break in January, Sexton said the School Committee will begin finalist interviews to select the next superintendent.
