WESTFIELD – Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski recently announced that Westfield schools serving pre-kindergarten to virtual grade 8 will have new leaders this fall.

Thomas Osborn of Amherst will be the principal of the new Westfield K-8 Virtual School. Entering his ninth year in administration and educational leadership, Osborn has a doctorate degree in education, and leadership experience in both general and special education, as well as teaching experience in brick-and-mortar schools in New York and Massachusetts, and in virtual schools.

Mary Cieplik of Longmeadow has been hired as the new principal of Southampton Road Elementary School. Cieplik has been in education for 16 years, serving as a middle school math teacher in the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, assistant principal at the Thornton Burgess Middle School in Hampden, and principal of the Granite Valley Middle School in Monson.    

After becoming director of curriculum and instruction, that position was eliminated due to COVID-19 budget cuts, and she made the transition to the classroom as a grade 3 teacher in Longmeadow public schools for a portion of the 2020-21 school year.

Cieplik shared she is looking forward to meeting members of the Southampton Road community. On Aug. 12 from 1 to 2 p.m., she invites people to stop by the school to have a “popsicle with the principal.”

Jonathan Scagel of Hatfield will be the new principal of the Fort Meadow Early Childhood Center. Scagel has been superintendent of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District in Franklin County for the past three years, after serving as special education teacher and transition skills program supervisor in the district for one year. Altogether, he has been an educator for 27 years; 24 as a special education teacher working in Hadley, Springfield, Northampton, the LPVEC Career and Technical Education Center, and Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School.

Southampton Road Principal Kathleen O’Donnell, who will be retiring on Oct. 12, will serve as the interim principal of Abner Gibbs Elementary School, while a search committee for that position is formed. 

Former Abner Gibbs Principal Stacy Burgess has been appointed as the new principal of Paper Mill Elementary School.

“My five years at Abner Gibbs have been wonderful. I am grateful for the time I spent there.  I am very excited to be joining the Paper Mill community. I look forward to building relationships with students, staff, and families,” Burgess said.

Rena Piper has also been selected as a new elementary assistant principal for the district. She will be serving four days a week at Southampton Road school and one day at Abner Gibbs.  Piper has taught in Westfield public schools since 1993, most recently as district math coach for three years.

“I am happy that we filled these positions. I think we have some quality candidates. There are a lot of openings all across the state, and we have been fortunate to find high quality candidates,” Czaporowski said.