Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 1/17/2023
NORTHAMPTON – During a special meeting on Jan. 10, the Northampton School Committee delineated a tentative schedule for the process of hiring a permanent superintendent for the 2023-2024 school year.
The committee met with Liz Lafond, a field director for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), to clarify the schedule and application process for the upcoming months.
The schedule presented by Lafond indicates that a permanent superintendent will most likely be selected during the week of March 20, which is also around the same time the finalist interviews will be conducted along with site visits at all the schools. “The finalists would go to the first meeting in March; they’d be announced publicly,” said Lafond.
In the meantime, the hope is to have an application closing date of Feb. 10 and semi-finalist interviews finished by the start of March.
“We want to get the notice of vacancy posted, and we want to get applications flowing,” said Lafond. “There are many [people] waiting for the actual announcement to happen so they can get applications in…and that’s a really good thing.”
The committee’s immediate next step is to elect the search committee so Lafond can orient them while applications are being submitted. Concurrently, the search committee will also develop focus groups and other mechanisms for allowing community input in the process.
The School Committee selected MASC as the firm responsible for assisting the committee in finding a permanent superintendent for the next school year.
Currently, Jannell Pearson-Campbell is the acting superintendent of the Northampton school district after Howard Eberwein III declined the committee’s initial offer to elect him as the interim. She began her journey in education 22 years ago and has worked as a classroom teacher, principal and assistant director of education. She told the committee during her interview for the position that she has a technical background to move the district forward and stated that her skill set involves working with students on literacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Her current term is for up to one year, unless the committee decides to extend that timeline.
Former Superintendent John Provost left Northampton to become the new superintendent at Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District back in the summer.
As the committee continues its search for candidates, Pearson-Campbell does have the ability to apply for the permanent position, if so desired.
A permanent superintendent would officially start July 1.