HAMPDEN/WILBRAHAM – After just over an hour of discussion, the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD)’s School Committee voted unanimously on June 2 to enter negotiations with John Provost, to become the district’s next superintendent.

Provost, the current superintendent of Northampton Public Schools, was one of three finalists for the superintendent position. He and the other two candidates were Ware Public Schools Superintendent Marlene DiLeo and Athol-Royalston Regional School District Director of Intervention and Acceleration Cynthia Kennedy, were interviewed on May 31.

Before the vote, School Committee Vice Chair Maura Ryan and member Sherrill Caruana shared the results of the visits to each of the candidates’ current districts. Ryan said that the people she spoke with described Kennedy as a “strong instructional leader,” who provides feedback, worked collaboratively with those under her supervision and was hands-on assisting teachers during the coronavirus pandemic.

“They leaned on her and respected her input,” Ryan read from her notes. She went on to say that Kennedy “understands how a regional system works.” Caruana had similar comments from those with whom she had spoken.

Ryan said she and Caruana met with the mayor, teachers and staff in Northampton. She said Provost has union negotiation experience, looks at the bottom line on budgets as well as the needs of students and includes diversity, equity and inclusion as part of his “core” work. People told her he was well-prepared, acts as a mentor and understands special education.

Caruana quoted people she spoke to as saying, “I adore his leadership,” and he “made me feel like my children in public school are getting a private school education.”

Ryan and Caruana were given a lot of information when they visited the Ware Public Schools. Ryan said students reported feeling safe and appreciating the district’s anonymous reporting system for bullying. The director of facilities talked about how creative DiLeo was with financing the district, including the use of partnerships and grants. Ryan said a principal shared that DiLeo often sweeps the middle school cafeteria and how he found himself doing it one day, and when he told the students they deserved a clean area, they began to move chairs and help him.

Caruana quoted someone as saying of DiLeo, “Her driving force is what’s best for kids.”

School Committee members Patrick Kiernan, Bill Bontempi and Sean Kennedy took turns sharing comments from each candidates’ references. Of DiLeo, people cited her integrity, focus on data-driven decision making and said she was tough, but fair. Areas for improvement were communication and administrative turnover.

References for Kennedy reported that she surrounds herself with knowledgeable people, has a great relationship with the School Committee and, according to one person, “is one of the smartest people I’ve met.” That said, people also reported that she could come across as intimidating, give “strong pushback” and is “very hard on herself.”

Of Provost, people said he “doesn’t allow perfect to get in the way of progress,” is a good listener, thoughtful and goes above and beyond. His references praised his mentor-leadership approach and ability to unify but pointed out he tends to overwork.

The committee praised all three candidates as qualified and engaged with students. “Every person we met, we thought, ‘This is the one,’” Caruana shared.

Deliberation

When deliberating, Kennedy was the first to put his vote behind Provost. He praised the superintendent for talking during his interview about a mistake he had made, explaining how he fixed it and what he took away from that lesson.

School Committee member Lisa Murray agreed. She said his experience as a teacher, as an expert in special education and with strategic plans weighed heavily in his favor. She also noted that Northampton is set up in villages, so it would not be completely new for Provost to deal with balancing the needs of communities in the district. Finally, Murray, who teaches in Agawam said educators she is inspired by were inspired by Provost during his tenure in that district.

Caruana said she was impressed that he was interested in moving on because he had met all the goals he had set for himself and wanted a new challenge.

Committee Chair Michal Boudreau was struck by Provost entering a district with level three schools and bringing them up to level one. She also pointed out that he was knowledgeable “on the spot” and listened to stakeholders as a “strong parent advocate.”

While Bontempi said all the candidates were excellent, he, too, was in favor of Provost for his, “incredible amount of experience” and “very balanced, very thoughtful” communication style.

Kiernan said Provost’s comment during the interview that results and scores are less important than educating students was a standout moment for him. He also praised Provost for stepping back and allowing the teachers to take the lead in creating curriculum as an opportunity to teach leadership.

“I would be very comfortable with John to lead our district,” Kiernan said. All members of the committee said Provost was “the right fit” for the district and aligned with the profile of experience and traits that had been created at the beginning of the search process.

After the vote, Provost was called and offered the opportunity to enter contract negotiations. He accepted.

Bontempi, who had been vocal with doubts about the timeline of the superintendent search, commented, “I was wrong. Despite how fast this moved, the process worked out in the end.” He said the pool of candidates was strong and thanked DiLeo and Kennedy for applying for the position. Murray and Boudreau thanked the screening committee who had combed through dozens of applications before narrowing the pool to the finalists.