School Committee to host second round of interviews

Dec. 22, 2015 | Chris Goudreau
cgoudreau@thereminder.com

Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District Superintendent of Schools M. Martin O’Shea (left) and Wolf Swamp Elementary School Principal Neil Gile (right).
Reminder Publications submitted photo

LONGMEADOW – The School Committee will host a second round of interviews for the superintendent position Dec. 22.

After first interviews on Dec. 17, the committee decided to conduct site visits and more interviews with the two finalists, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) superintendent M. Martin O’Shea and Wolf Swamp Elementary School principal Neil Gile.

School Committee Chair Janet Robinson said a third finalist, Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation of Indiana Associate Superintendent for Strategy and Accountability Catherine Minihan, decided to drop out of the running prior to the interviews due to personal reasons.

While the committee agreed to extend the interview process, Robinson and School Committee member John Fitzgerald stated during the Dec. 17 meeting that they would be out of town on Dec. 22. They said, however, they might be available to participate in the second interviews via phone.

The School Committee posed several questions on the redistricting of Blueberry Hill and Center elementary schools.

O’Shea said he’s gained experience with redistricting and enrollment issues during the past six years he’s been HWRSD’s superintendent.  

“In the first year, we realized we were looking at a redistricting question at three to six elementary schools,” he added. “It was apparent that we were going to be in this sort of continual redistricting mode to ensure that there was balance between the schools and balanced class sizes.”

The solution for the redistricting in HWRSD was the closure of Memorial Elementary School in 2010, he noted.

“We wanted to make sure that we engaged parents in that conversation so it was kind of a full-time job essentially to ensure that we were communicating, that parents understood what the issue that was in front of us [and that] they understand what the possible solutions were,” O’Shea said.

He added his district is also experiencing a decline in enrollment at the middle school level.

The HWRSD School Committee decided in November to pursue a single middle school, which would combine the student bodies of Wilbraham Middle School and from Thornton W. Burgess Middle School. However, before that can happen residents of the two communities need to approve a change in the regional agreement with Town Meeting votes.

O’Shea emphasized a need for communicating with the community regarding this issue.

Gile, who came to the district five years ago, said as superintendent he would maintain and improve upon the high level of educational offerings in the district.

“I think the biggest challenge has to be continuing to provide all learners with access to the curriculum within the classroom experience,” he noted. “We continue to see that our achievement gap [with special education] is there. I would say over the last couple years, and this is in the spirit of what I would do about it is, I feel like a lot of this is already in place. We’ve taken specific steps to address those areas. You look at school improvement plans [and] they specifically target that area in particular – closing the achievement gap.”

O’Shea said when he became superintendent of HWRSD approximately 20 percent of students were identified as in need of special education services.

“We’re at a 15 to 16 percent [range] now,” he explained. “I think that’s come about though not because we’re denying services or not supporting learners. We tried to stay out of that fail mode ... One of the shifts that I quickly took when I became superintendent was to understand that when we’re addressing the needs of our youngest learners you’re going to avoid some of the challenges down the road.”

Gile said communication and building relationship with community members and officials would also be a priority for him.

“There’s something to be said about meeting with people face to face,” he noted.

Share this: