Page 266 - BOXFORD

With this new L-BLC program at the Cole School, we have now have a wider range of
program offerings at both our schools.
We have continued our special education program partnership with the Middleton and
Topsfield Public Schools at the Spofford Pond School. This cross-district program
provides highly specialized education and therapeutic supports to a small number of
students who require modifications to their curriculum, instruction and therapies in
multiple areas; this well supported education program has been of great benefit to not
only the students in Boxford, but also for students in our ‘partner’ communities. The
Spofford Pond School community has fully embraced and welcomed all the students and
this program is a model which provides not only a highly specialized educational
experiences, but also is an effective use of resources so that students with common
learning profile needs can be educated together in an efficient manner.
We also extend our in-district program options through memberships with two
outstanding Collaboratives, CREST (formerly known as the Greater Lawrence
Educational Collaborative) and Northshore Education Consortium, which enables us to
provide specialized educational programs to low incidence populations of special needs
students and to serve as a resource to work collaboratively with member districts to
address a variety of special education issues, as well as to provide professional
development opportunities for staff.
The Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC) is combined with the
Masconomet SEPAC and these parents work hard to provide support and information to
parents as well as raise money to provide supplemental materials or resources to the
special education students and staff in our schools. We have had consistent leadership
and participation of parents in the SEPAC activities from Boxford parents. Anyone
interested in learning more about the SEPAC and their calendar of events should check
out their website: http://www.tritownsepac.org/.
Superintendent Search
In August 2015, the School Committee received a letter of resignation from
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Bernard Creeden, announcing in his intent to retire on
June 30, 2016. The School Committee, as part of the larger Tri-Town Union School
Committee (TTU) was charged with hiring the next Superintendent of Schools.
Instead of hiring a search firm, the TTU Committee chose to form its own search
committee, comprised of different categories of stakeholders in Boxford, Topsfield and
Middleton to have a more customized approach for this unique district. The entire TTU
Committee participated in a focus group, out of which was developed a leadership profile
and job description, which was posted on September 21.
Applications were solicited from the various stakeholder groups for members of a
Superintendent Search Committee that would ultimately evaluate applications and
conduct interviews, before putting forward any finalists. By October 1, thirteen members
were selected, comprised of parents, community stakeholders, School Committee
members, and teachers from each of the three towns, and representation from the school
leadership team: Christine Bolzan (Chair), Amy Karas, Mark Lyons, Pam Messenger,
Brian Middleton-Cox, Karen Nawoichik, Deb O’Brien, Elizabeth Palmer, Melissa Pierce,
Kerry Russo, Gordie Spater, Kristen Swanson, and Gimmie Sue Valacer.
The Superintendent Search Committee leveraged LinkedIn, independent executive
searches, posted the job in online portals and built a custom website to share information.

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