Chair's Quarterly Report
| Hello Everyone, On behalf of the Board, I want to extend our thanks for your support in helping to pass the 2013/14 school budget. Your feedback, support and especially your votes are much appreciated. It is a relief to know that we can now return our focus to educating our students and closing out the school year. The following is an update on the status of our work to fill the CRHS Principal position and of course, the Superintendent position. First, we welcome the return of Don Gates to CRHS as Interim Principal. Since his retirement in 2006, Don has served in several interim principal roles including terms at Middletown, East Hampton and Valley Regional High School. Prior to that, Don was Principal of Portland High School from 1977 to 2006 and upon retiring, was honored to have the new Portland High School auditorium named after him. It is interesting to note that Don taught Business Education at Coginchaug Regional High School from 1966 through 1973. As Don puts it, "RSD13 was the launching pad for my administrative career so many years ago!" With more than 45 years of experience in education, Don brings a wealth of expertise to the District. In addition to having participated in many community volunteer committees and boards, Don has served as president of the CAS Board of Directors and has also chaired several NEASC Accreditation Committees. We are confident that he will make an immediate contribution to our high school and indeed, to the entire school community. Please take a moment to welcome Mr. Don Gates back to our RSD13 family. In the meantime, the RSD13 Principal Search Committee comprised of Board members, administrators, teachers and parents is in the process of interviewing candidates in their efforts to find a permanent principal for CRHS. As has been done in the past, the committee will conduct site visits and focus groups to assist them in the selection of a candidate. Stay posted for more information as this committee work continues. The Board is also actively engaged in preparing for Superintendent Viccaro's departure. We have been working on a plan intended to address this difficult process in a thoughtful and inclusive way. Over the past couple of weeks, we have met with executive search firms to assist us in the recruitment and hiring process. We believe it is critical that we solicit input and provide feedback to all stakeholders as we proceed. With the help of CES (Cooperative Educational Services) and Dr. Kaye Griffin we are finalizing action plans to include development of a planning calendar, recruitment materials and communication protocols. In addition, we will conduct focus groups and distribute online surveys to a wide variety of stakeholders including administrators, staff, students, parents, town officials and other members of the community. The important information gathered in this process will be used to develop a leadership profile and help to define the qualities and characteristics that we are looking for in our next superintendent. While we intend to fill this important position as quickly as possible, we also recognize that we likely will not have a permanent replacement in time to begin the new school year. Given the anticipated timeline for finding a permanent replacement, we must hire an Interim Superintendent to fill this important role over the coming months. The Board has identified several well experienced and highly recommended former Superintendents who are interested in assisting us during this timeframe. We will be completing interim superintendent interviews by the end of May and expect to have someone in position prior to Susan's departure at the end of June. We realize that this is a very unsettling time for our staff, students and parents. We hope that you find this update helpful. The entire Board is committed to doing our very best to minimize the unavoidable disruption that these changes create. At the same time, we are confident that with your input and support we can emerge from these uncertain times as strong as ever. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Kerrie Flanagan Chairwoman RSD13 Board of Education |