Superintendent Search

School Committee Appoints New Superintendent:  Peter Light

At their March 12, 2018 meeting, the School Committee voted to appoint Peter Light as the next Acton-Boxborough Superintendent. He will begin his new role on July 1, 2018. Mr. Light is currently serving as Assistant Superintendent of the Franklin School District. Find out more information about Mr. Light. The School Committee wishes to thank everyone who participated in this search, and asks all to welcome Mr. Light as he joins the district as the next Superintendent. 

School Committee Meeting to Decide on Superintendent

Read the agenda for the School Committee meeting on March 12, 2018 when they discussed appointment of the new Superintendent.  

Final Candidates for Superintendent Named 

Click here to read the announcement.  

At its February 15, 2018 School Committee meeting, the following finalists were named for our Superintendent Search:
Public interviews will be conducted on the following dates:

Wed, February 28 - Anthony Parker
Thu, March 1* -        Peter Light
 *(replaces scheduled School Committee meeting that night)

School Committee Meeting for discussion and decision:  Mon, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. 
The schedule for the finalists' visits to AB will be:
  • School Tours & Meetings with AB Staff & Administration   10:00 am - 4:30 pm
  • Parent/Community Forum   6:30 - 7:15 in the JH Library
  • Public Interview with the School Committee   7:30 - 8:45  in the JH Library
Please save the dates and join in this process!

The Search Process

The Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee has hired the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to assist with the search for a new Superintendent of Schools. 

The Superintendent Search Screening Committee:

At their meeting on January 11, 2018, the School Committee appointed the following members to a Screening Committee to assist in the superintendent search process. The Screening Committee will review applications, interview candidates and recommend several candidates to the School Committee for further consideration.  Thank you to the following members:

          Damian Sugrue, Principal of the Luther Conant Elementary School

          Dana Labb, Principal of the Blanchard Memorial Elementary School

          Leah Lally, Teacher at the Merriam School

          Kathy Simmons, Speech & Language Pathologist at the Douglas School

Amanda Bailey, SPEDPAC Representative

Kellie Carter, ABEA Representative

Michael Coppolino, Community Member, Acton

John Fallon, Community Member, Boxborough

Kyra Wilson Cook, Parent (McCarthy-Towne)

Steven Mucci, Parent (Blanchard)

Chidhi Aruanchalam, Parent (Conant, R.J. Grey Jr. High)

Diane Baum, School Committee Member, Acton

Amy Krishnamurthy, School Committee Member, Acton

Tessa McKinley, School Committee Member, Boxborough


Prior to that decision, at their meeting on 12/14/17, The School Committee voted that the composition of the Screening Committee would be: 

Group

Number

Group

Number

Parents/Guardians

3

ABEA Representative

1

Community Members*

2

SpEdPAC Representative

1

Faculty Members

2

School Committee Members

3

Administrators

2

 

 

 

 

Total Members

14

                        *Non-school related

 The Screening Committee will be meeting on the following evenings:

  • January 25 – Training workshop, conducted by Dr. Sally Dias and Dr. Tony Bent of NESDEC
  • January 29 – Selection of candidates to interview
  • February 1 – February 12 – Initial interviews of candidates (dates to be determined)

The initial meetings will be held in Room 13 of the Administration Building. The consultants will assist in reviewing applications, and in the selection of candidates to interview.  The interview schedule, agenda and questions will also be developed.  Because there is so much to accomplish during these two meetings, members should plan to be available for approximately three hours.

Between February 1 and February 12, it is anticipated the Screening Committee will interview a total of approximately 8-10 candidates who best meet the profile established for the superintendent position.  At the conclusion of these interviews, the Screening Committee will recommend 3-5 candidates for further consideration by the Acton-Boxborough School Committee.

Citizens who were  interested in serving on the Screening Committee, were invited to send a letter of interest no later than January 8, 2018 at 3:00 p.m to Beth Petr at [email protected]. Members had to commit to attending all committee meetings, including all the candidate interview sessions.  It was also understood that much of the business of the Screening Committee will require a high degree of confidentiality as potential candidates’ names and application materials will be reviewed and discussed.


Focus Groups and Survey

The Acton-Boxborough Regional School District has begun the process of searching for a new Superintendent of Schools, and has engaged the services of the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to assist in this important task. 

Dr. Anthony Bent and Dr. Sally Dias, search consultants with NESDEC, will be assisting the School Committee throughout the search process.  As part of the process, NESDEC will be conducting a series of focus groups.

 Focus groups are an important part of the process because they are designed to obtain the input of teachers, support staff, administrators, School Committee members, parents/guardians and community members about the attributes, experience and knowledge they believe the new superintendent should possess. The focus groups also provide an opportunity for participants to identify immediate tasks upon which the new superintendent should concentrate. 

 Each focus group session will last approximately 1 – 1½ hours.   The schedule is as follows:

          Day                                 Time                    Location

Wednesday, Dec. 13          12:30 p.m.        Sargent Memorial Library, Boxborough

Monday, Dec. 18                7:00 p.m.         RJ Grey Junior High School Library

Wednesday, Jan. 3             7:00 p.m.         RJ Grey Junior High School Library

The Acton-Boxborough Regional School District and NESDEC welcome your input and hope that you will be able to participate.

Please also take a moment to participate in a brief survey by clicking here.  


Additional Information

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