Dear Parent/Guardian:

I am pleased to report that the process for hiring Holliston’s next Assistant Superintendent of Schools is nearing completion and entering the phase where public input is being sought. The purpose of this communication is to inform you that the Screening Committee (consisting of Holliston educators, members of the Holliston School Committee and several Holliston parents) have completed their screening of the 50+ applications received, interviewed 10 semi-finalists and have recommended the following 4 finalists to the Superintendent of Schools. The finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

• Peter Badalament
• Peter Botelho
• Cari Perchase
• Colleen Worrell

A brief biography of each finalist is included at the bottom of this announcement.

The next phase of the selection process includes a ½ day long site visit to Holliston where candidates will tour our schools and meet our staff and students. Each site visit will conclude with a one-hour Open House, where parents/guardians are invited to meet the candidate and ask questions in an informal environment. Each Parent Open House will take place from 3-4 PM and be held in the Holliston High School Library. The schedule for the Open Houses is as follows:

• Monday, May 22, 2017 – Peter Botelho
• Tuesday, May 23, 2017 – Colleen Worrell
• Wednesday, May 24, 2017 – Cari Perchase
• Thursday, May 25, 2017 – Peter Badalament

Parents who attend any and all of the Open Houses are welcome to offer feedback on the candidates to me through email (jacksonb@holliston.k12.ma.us) no later than Wednesday, May 31, 2017. I will be announcing my choice on Thursday, June 1, 2017 at the meeting of the Holliston School Committee.

I welcome your input and assistance in making this critically important decision for the Holliston Public Schools.

Respectfully,

Bradford L. Jackson, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

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Assistant Superintendent Finalists

Peter Badalament

Peter Badalament is currently an adjunct Professor at the University of New England teaching graduate classes for UNE Master of Science in Education program. In addition to the graduate classes he runs his own consulting company, Creating Truly Student-Centered Schools. He previously worked as the Principal of Concord-Carlisle High School from 2007-2016. He has also served as a Principal in Bellingham and Hanover, Massachusetts. Prior to assuming leadership respsonsibilities, Mr. Badalament taught Social Studies and English at the High School level in Connecticut, Washington, DC and New Jersey. He earned his Master of Education at Harvard University in Administration & Social Planning and his Bachelor of Arts at Wesleyan University.

Peter Botelho

Peter Botelho is currently the Principal of the Robert Adams Middle School in Holliston. He previously worked as an Assistant Principal and History/Humanities teacher in Somerville: as a teacher and curriculum coordinator for an alternative education/dropout prevention program in Revere; a Art and Humanities teacher at a Massachusetts charter school; and as a history teacher at a private school in San Francisco. He earned his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at Boston College, his Master of Education in Educational Leadership at Harvard University and his Bachelor of Arts at Dartmouth College.

Cari Perchase

Cari Perchase is currently the Principal of Medway Middle School. She previously worked as an Assistant Principal at Medway Middle School and a Grade 6 ELA and Social Studies teacher at Duxbury Middle School. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education; Curriculum, Teaching. Learning and Leading at Northeastern University, and has received her CAGS in Educational Leadership from Bridgewater State College, her Master of Education in Elementary Education from the University of Massachusetts - Boston and her Bachelor of Arts at University of Massachusetts - Boston.

Colleen Worrell

Colleen Worrell is the Director of Center for Innovation at St. Mark’s School in Southborough. She previously worked as the Technology Integration Specialist at Hopkinton High School and at The Education Collaborative working with the Teaching American History Grant, and served as Manager of Professional Development for Virtual High School. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy at the College of William and Mary, her Master of Arts at the College of William and Mary and her Bachelor of Arts at Colby College.

The Holliston School Committee is evaluating several options designed to better align the school day for optimal learning, while improving the health and well being of our students. The current status of the School Start Time Subcommittee's findings have been published to the HPS website here. The page includes links to research about sleep time and later start times, as well as data collected about Holliston students' sleep habits. You can also find the presentation "The Science of School Start Times," presented by Dr. C. Landrigran to the school committee on January 19, 2017.

Dr. Bradford Jackson, Superintendent of the Holliston Public Schools was notified by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of an upcoming Coordinated Program Review that will be taking place this spring. As part of this Coordinated Program Review, Department staff will visit Holliston during the week of May 22nd. Such visits are routinely conducted by the Department to satisfy federal and state requirements for the periodic review of specific education programs and services in schools throughout the Commonwealth. The Department is reviewing several programs during a single visit in order to use Department and school staff’s time most efficiently and to encourage strong connections among the programs.

The Department’s Coordinated Program Review will address the following programs: Special Education, Civil Rights and English Learner Education. After reviewing school district procedures for these programs, a Department team will make its onsite visit, during which it will review individual student records, interview administrators, teachers and paraprofessional staff, survey parents and observe instructional spaces. After the onsite visit it will prepare a report for the superintendent and school committee, with detailed findings for each program.

Using a scale of ratings ranging from “Commendable” to “Not Implemented,” the report will rate the implementation of each requirement reviewed by the Department. Where requirements are found not implemented or only partially implemented, the district must propose to the Department corrective action to bring those areas into compliance with statutes and regulations. Districts and schools are encouraged to incorporate the corrective action into their district and school improvement plans and professional development plan. The school district will be provided with technical assistance from the Department in developing a corrective action plan. Both the Department’s report and the corrective action plan are public information and will be available to the public upon request. Program Review Final Reports are also available on the Department’s Internet website at www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/reports/.

Any member of the public may request to be interviewed by telephone by a member of the Department’s visiting team. Those wishing to be interviewed should call the Superintendent’s office at 508 429-0654 no later than May 1st, 2017 to leave their name and phone number, or they may call the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at (781) 338-3715. A member of the visiting team will contact each person desiring an interview within two weeks after the completion of the onsite visit. If an individual is not comfortable communicating in English or requires some other accommodation, the Department will make arrangements to communicate appropriately with the individual.

The winter edition of the Community Newsletter of the Holliston Public Schools has now been published.  This newsletter contains updates from the HPS School Committee, central office administrators and building principals, and parent groups. The newsletters also include important dates and other information for parents and community members.  You can access the newsletter using this link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7g5gwBbt9Wvd3JVdUxlU0JBWDhsOVltdm1nbmlMOFdvQmZ3/view

Each year the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) surveys families of students with an IEP in selected school districts to determine how well your child's school is communicating with you and promoting your engagement in your child's education. It is Holliston's turn this year!

Click here for the full announcment and link to the survey.

The Survey Deadline has been extended to January 27, 2017!!!!!

Please submit your parent/guardian or community member feedback through the survey Speak Up,  http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2016/   This is an online national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow.  Project Tomorrow annually polls students, educators, and parents about key topics of importance to K-12 educators and policymakers such as:

• Student use of technology in and out of school to learn.
• Educator use of technology for instruction and their vision for 21st century classrooms.
• Hot trends in emerging technologies (e.g. mobile devices, online, blended and flipped learning, gaming, digital and online textbooks).
• Enhancing student achievement in science, math, technology, and 21st century skills.

As a participant in Speak Up, our district will receive free, online access to the aggregated results with national comparisons. This valuable data can be used for our planning, curriculum, and professional development during the school year.

The survey will take about 15 minutes and results are anonymous. You will be brought through a series of prompts where you select your zip code, and then your school(s).

[Click here for more background information about Project Tomorrow → Speak Up]