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Date: 1/31/2023
PALMER – Palmer Public Schools have big plans for 2023, with the most prominent being the hiring of a new superintendent.
Interim Superintendent Colleen Culligan is filling the position until someone is hired permanently. Prior to becoming the interim, Culligan served as the director of student services, special education and English language learners.
She shared, “My goal and mission are to provide continuity, consistency, and support to the students and their families, the staff and the School Committee.”
Culligan continued, “I am familiar with the diversity of our schools and community, the District Improvement Plan, our business and financial systems and the laws that drive our policies.”
Currently, the Palmer School District is undergoing a superintendent search through the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. During the Jan. 18 School Committee meeting, 15 individuals were appointed to an Advisory Search Committee. The committee will be tasked to narrow a pool of candidates to a group of three to five finalists to be sent to the School Committee.
“One of our goals in the district has been to establish the ‘message’ of the transition,” Culligan said. “Palmer schools has an incredibly talented faculty, staff and administration who share a determined and positive sense of mission and pride in our schools.”
As a district, Culligan shared, “We hope to develop consistency, stability, honesty and accountability, which we feel is essential for creating strong foundations and partnerships within our school community.”
Moving forward in 2023, Palmer is continuing to support strong post COVID-19 recovery efforts, tiered interventions and a continued focus on social emotional learning, with an emphasis on the child, wellness and behavioral skill development.
“Our continuation of the literacy initiative at Old Mill Pond [Elementary School] and our math improvement efforts at both schools continue to ensure that all students are receiving quality instruction as well as the social-emotional support that meets their needs,” said Culligan. “We continue to strengthen our capacity to analyze and use data to inform educator practice.”
She noted that the district has expanded critical mental health support for students and continues to maintain “favorable class sizes” at the elementary and high school levels. Student access to technology – with devices and software – has also expanded at all levels.
“In our newly developed District and School Improvement plans, we will be strengthening our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through the formation of a dedicated leadership team committed to ensuring that our policies and practices are current, inclusive and thoughtful,” shared Culligan.
As school districts across the commonwealth are entering the budget season, Culligan said there will be upcoming budget challenges, “Especially with respect to a to a 14 percent unprecedented out-of-district tuition increase for all private special education schools who service the students whose needs the local school districts are unable to provide for.”