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Date: 6/1/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — When his hometown needed a school superintendent, Timothy Connor took on the challenge, all through the coronavirus pandemic.
But when the state recently offered him a larger role, he found he couldn’t pass up that challenge, too.
“I wasn’t out looking for a new job, however the Department of Education had an opening that they made me aware of,” said Connor.
He announced on May 17 that he had taken “a leadership position” with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). He will work through the end of this school year and start his new job this summer.
It wasn’t an easy decision, he said.
“This decision was very difficult, as my love for West Side and the community is unwavering,” Connor wrote in a letter to parents and staff. “I have been blessed to have a phenomenal faculty/staff and administration. I have been blessed to work for a fantastic mayor and two of the very best and most supportive School Committees a superintendent could ask for.”
Connor, a West Springfield native, started his education career as a physical education and health teacher. He eventually became vice principal of West Springfield High School, then spent 16 years in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, including work as the districtwide administrator in charge of curriculum.
He came home in 2015 when he was hired for the new position of West Springfield curriculum director by then-Superintendent Michael Richard. When Richard left the district, Connor took on the top job, just weeks before COVID-19 closed schools and then forced superintendents to scramble to redefine public education in the new reality of the coronavirus pandemic, remote learning and social distancing.
“In February of 2020, the former superintendent took on another position, which led to me being asked to fulfill that role,” Connor told Reminder Publishing. “I did that and I have to say it has been a great and difficult two and a half years, without a doubt.”
He said in his May 17 letter that while “you never stop improving,” West Springfield schools are on a post-pandemic path to success and he believes the School Department is prepared for a “seamless” transition to a new leader.
His own new role will have him working with some of the state’s most distressed school districts.
“This position has to do with turnaround work, working with districts that have been identified in needing some support,” said Connor. “This is a state-wide system of support and a program within DESE.”
He said he will be working on improving school districts from Worcester to Pittsfield, though he told parents and staff that his heart will always be in West Springfield.
“I am a proud product of West Springfield public schools, and this work was never a job for me,” he said. “It was simply working with so many friends and families that I grew up with, taught as an educator, and yes, even provided discipline when needed as a WSHS [West Springfield High School] vice principal. … I wish you all the very best in the future.”
The School Committee met on May 24 to discuss the process of hiring a new superintendent. Connor’s official last day is June 30, which he said is coming up very quickly, but he is happy to help with this transition in any way he can.
“This was a very hard decision, as this place truly is home for me, but on to the next chapter,” he said.
Michael Ballway of Reminder Publishing contributed to this report.