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Date: 7/25/2023
PALMER — Matthew T. Francis recently started his new position as superintendent of Palmer Public Schools.
Francis was selected following a monthslong search that began after previous Superintendent Patricia Gardner abruptly resigned in October 2022.
Committee member Sandy Noonan said, “I am very excited that Matt Francis is our new superintendent. I believe that he brings a wealth of knowledge from his many experiences in the Chicopee school system that will benefit the students and staff in the Palmer Schools. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our schools and I feel privileged to be a part of that.”
Born and raised in northeast Ohio, initially Francis was going to school for a short stint in aeronautical engineering and then switched to business. While Francis was injured during his sophomore year from football, he was hired as an aide for an elementary school. That’s where he quickly fell in love with education and transferred from a business major over to an elementary education major. In 1995, he was a substitute teacher for half a year in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He moved out to Colorado and taught elementary grade three for five years before Francis moved to Massachusetts in 2000. He was a reading teacher at Bellamy Middle School in 2001 and in 2004 was the vice principal. In 2006, Francis was named principal of Bellamy Middle School until 2020 when he became the assistant superintendent of instruction and accountability for Chicopee Public Schools.
From time to time, Francis would see what jobs would open up and was approached by a couple residents from Palmer asking him if he would consider applying for the superintendent position.
Francis said, “I can bring an outside lens coming from a large urban district procedure that have either been successful in my 22 years within that district or have been tried and have been deemed unsuccessful for the district as well.”
He continued, “From an educational standpoint, we have to meet the needs of all our students being the brightest of the bright to any individual that has an obstacle that they have to overcome. Our job is to succeed every individual and provide every opportunity for every individual possible.”
Francis has been meeting with a lot of individuals. There are some immediate low-level structures that have been already put into place such as improving systems, communications and bringing in different partnerships. Palmer has a new partnership with Westfield State College that Francis brought in. His main objective this year is to create and implement an entry plan and amongst that entry plan do a year entry finding around the middle of the year and a strategic plan going in.
“A lot of the first year is learning of the district, but then putting in low-level quick improvement,” Francis said. “I like the excitement of something new. I like building a team and tapping into individual strengths to create that team and uncovering strengths of individuals that they may not have been aware of.”
He went on to say, “From what I’ve gathered, Palmer Public Schools have gone through a rough patch. I think they are looking for some stability and I’m excited to bring that to the district.”