GREENFIELD — A week into the job as Greenfield’s new superintendent, Carol Kruser said she is settling in and working to develop her goals for the next few months.
Kruser attended her first Greenfield School Committee meeting as superintendent on Wednesday, and told members that since her first day on July 1, she has been working with department heads to learn the district’s policies and procedures, and catch up on recent issues, such as the security breach at Federal Street School last month.
“We reviewed data from the 2026 school year, what we would need for going to the next year. We set up our calendar. We spent a lot of time talking about safety and security measures, and plans to evaluate procedures and protocols that will be happening in the summer and beyond,” Kruser said. “We reviewed the restorative practices pilot at Federal Street. … We discussed the strategic plan that ends in 2028, and we talked about the school improvement plans, and I’ll be talking to the principals individually about that.”
Kruser was offered the superintendent position in February. Former Superintendent Karin Patenaude resigned in July 2025, and Roland Joyal Jr. has served as interim superintendent while the school district searched for a new leader.
Prior to joining Greenfield, Kruser worked as Chicopee Public Schools’ assistant superintendent for student support services. She holds bachelor’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in English language arts and human nutrition, and a master’s degree in health education from Springfield College.
Over the next few months, Kruser said she would like to have one-on-one meetings with principals, department heads and any staff members who wish to meet, and she added that she plans to schedule town hall events to hear from parents and community members, too. When the academic year begins, she plans to visit each of the schools and meet students.
“I’ll go to as many engagements as I can and activities that I can,” Kruser said.
Next week, Kruser will attend the annual Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents conference, saying the event will provide insight from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on upcoming changes, such as high school graduation requirements, as well as help her develop an action plan for the district.
“I did this as an assistant superintendent, so this is a slightly different program for superintendents, and they work with us in a cohort to develop a full entry plan,” Kruser said. “They also talk about mentorship and advocacy, and they give us a lot of information, so I’m really excited about that.”
She said she has heard the School Committee wants to prioritize communication and transparency, and she looks forward to working with them to further develop her onboarding plan and expectations.
“Everyone has been wonderful, friendly,” Kruser said. “I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
School Committee progress, goals
During Wednesday’s meeting, School Committee members also took time to reflect on their accomplishments over the past six months and their goals for the rest of the year.
Chair Stacey Sexton said committee members have made 56 motions over the past six months, and have been tracking whether follow-up action is needed or whether the goal of the motion has been completed. Members highlighted creating a long-term facility use advisory committee and policy changes, such as updates to the public comment policy, among their accomplishments.
Moving forward, School Committee members said they would like to continue working to introduce an academic integrity policy, add a student representative to the committee, and find ways to make their goals, motions and plans more accessible to the public.
Sexton asked School Committee members to meet with their respective subcommittees and create more robust goals for what they wish to accomplish during the rest of 2026, and then bring a list to the committee’s next meeting.
