Russell Elementary third-graders Cyler Sqroi and Emma Gillis demonstrate ST Math on their IPads to Westfield School Committee members Bill Duval and Kevin J. Sullivan at Monday’s meeting. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – Following Superintendent Suzanne Scallion’s letter of resignation effective June 20, 2016 submitted at the last School Committee meeting, the discussion is already underway to start the search for a new superintendent.
School Committee Vice Chairman Ramon Diaz, Jr., who will continue to chair the meetings until Acting Mayor Brian F. Sullivan is sworn in January, submitted a search proposal Monday for the School Committee to consider, which contained a timeline and steps needed to start the process. Sullivan was present at Monday’s meeting.
Diaz urged the committee to start by creating an advertisement for the position, to be discussed at the next meeting on December 7. He said he had spoken with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), who had recommended making a decision on a candidate no later than the end of March.
Other steps in the proposal including holding focus groups and taking a survey during January and February, then forming a screening committee to review all applications and interview semi-finalists the first week of March. Diaz, who served on the last search committee, said the committee at that time was composed of two parents, two teachers, a principal, a School Committee member and representative from another city office among others, for a total of ten.
The interviews of finalists would then be done by the entire School Committee the third week of March.
“The biggest job we have as a School Committee is to select a superintendent,” said Diaz.
He said that MASC will help with any or all of the steps of the process, and recommended that the School Committee get them involved in the search.
“They’re the experts,” he said.
“I think it also depends on the cost, Kevin J. Sullivan said. “How much they will charge?”
Sullivan, who was also involved in the last search, said there are outside companies available, but who cost considerably more than the MASC.
Diaz responded that the MASC charges $9,500 to run the whole search process. He added that at a bare minimum, he would like to get the advertisement out in December.
Scallion said other groups to consider include the Association of School Superintendents and SchoolSpring, both of which offer the same services.
According to School Committee member Cynthia Sullivan, $10,000 was put in the budget this year in anticipation of the search. Sullivan thanked Diaz for all of the work that he did, and added her recommendation that the School Committee hire MASC or someone else to assist with the search. She also said the School Committee needs to talk about salary range.
Jeffrey Gosselin said that normally he would object to advertising the search before the new mayor is sworn in, but said the School Committee is in a unique situation with the incoming mayor already serving.
“Because Brian Sullivan, the acting mayor is here, I think we should follow this timeline,” he said.
Diaz said he would get prices from the other groups before the next meeting on December 7, so they could make a decision at that time.
During his report, Acting Mayor Brian Sullivan responded to Gosselin’s earlier comment by saying he did have a unique opportunity to have sit-down meetings with the heads of departments and get a head start. He said he wanted to get a sense of budgets, and where the city would be in January.
Brian Sullivan also said there is going to be a recount for At-Large City Council which is not in the budget, and asked the School Committee and the Superintendent to help find volunteers. The city-wide recount will be held on Saturday, December 10 in the South Middle School.
At the start of the meeting, Sullivan and all of the School Committee members were introduced to Special Temporal (ST) Math by third graders from the Russell Elementary School. Principal Alison Hamilton explained that ST Math allows children to experience a conceptual understanding of math without using words. She credited Scallion with bringing ST Math to Westfield from California three years ago.
Third grade speakers told the School Committee what they liked about ST Math. They then paired up with School Committee members to demonstrate the math on iPads they brought to the meeting. Scallion said that studies show children who are trained in this math method do very well in calculus and trigonometry in high school and beyond.
“You will all be mathematicians,” she said to the children, who were also complimented by Scallion and Brian Sullivan on their powerful Pledge of Allegiance during the opening of the meeting.
