WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington Apple recently asked all six Wilmington School Committee candidates to describe their ideal superintendent candidate. Candidates were also asked to share their feelings about the School Committee’s handling of former Superintendent Mary DeLai’s resignation.
This week’s response schedule is as follows: Rhonda Musikar-Rosner (Monday), Amy Largenton (Tuesday), Sabrina Hewitt (Wednesday), Jennifer Bryson (Thursday), Steve Bjork (Friday), Kathleen O’Donoghue (Saturday), and a recap (Sunday).
Below is the response from candidate Kathi O’Donoghue.
Kathi O’Donoghue
QUESTION: One of the School Committee’s most important roles — arguably its most important — is hiring and evaluating the Superintendent. (1) Looking back, to address the elephant in the room, how do you feel the School Committee handled the resignation of former Superintendent Mary DeLai? (2) Looking forward, what qualities are you looking for in the next Superintendent? Describe your ideal candidate.
ANSWER: I, like everyone else not privy to the school committee’s closed sessions, have limited knowledge of what transpired with Ms. DeLai’s resignation. With understanding and appreciation of the legal ramifications of releasing this information, I do think that our community was not given much transparency or communication in the limited way that could have been provided. Moving forward, I think it is more important now than ever on focusing upon finding the right candidate.
We have been through a lot as a community and as a school system. We need to find a strong superintendent who has the ability to cross over the boundaries that have developed between students, parents, teachers, coaches, administration, and school committee and create a harmonious and positive paradigm for all of those parties to work within to create a mutually beneficial and professional relationship. Creating a climate of positivity and excellence should be first and foremost on our new leader’s list of goals. Wilmington needs an individual who will take on a collaborative rather than a confrontational approach and foster a climate of mutual respect and responsibility so we can all move forward and foster confidence in ourselves and our students once again.
As an educator I want to see us hire someone who has risen through the ranks of the educational system and can draw upon the many experiences that he or she has had working with a school system a and a community. One of the many reasons I moved to Wilmington was due to its reputation of being a fiscally responsible town. I had my reservations about hiring a superintendent who had not been an educator, but I appreciated the town’s decision to hire someone who had a reputation of being astute with finances. The role of a superintendent is a complex one and being able to budget and manage funding is a key component to successfully accomplishing this job, but ultimately not the sole responsibility and core of this complex position. The candidate who can prove has been creative and successful with obtaining grants and additional funding is who Wilmington should be seeking out.
I would prefer to see someone come in and assess the areas where we are less than stellar, like our curriculum, and make a commitment to focusing upon addressing and improving upon it. I have been consistently frustrated with the wavering of ineffective curriculum in Wilmington and have heard the same from many friends and parents. Ideally I would like to see someone who has already proven to be effective in a community similar to our own who is not afraid to take risks or make a commitment. I am a big believer in establishing obtainable and timely goals. Our next superintendent should be confident enough to establish a clear agenda and direction for the district our teachers and parents are tired of initiatives that never seem to go anywhere. We need to immediately identify what our next course of action is and start making up for lost time and see to it that the goals of the district are achieved and monitored for their progress.
There is a new trend in wanting education to emulate the business world, they cannot, and they should not attempt to follow the same model. We tried that with our last superintendent and that did not work for us. I want to see us hire someone who has experienced firsthand what it is like to be in the classroom with all its glory and limitations. Only having experienced that gamut will enable him or her to better comprehend what parents are asking for from its teachers and administrators. Our next superintendent will need to knowledgeable of the best practices for maximizing student achievement and is supportive of teachers in the district.
After seventeen years as a union representative I know better than anyone it is impossible to keep everyone happy, but I would like a candidate who has proven to be a transformational leader in a district that needed to be improved upon. Our school system needs to evolve with the times and needs of all of our children and cultivate a district that we work with rather than alienate the populations who have gone unnoticed and under serviced thus far. We have built these beautiful and modern schools now we need to start focusing upon enabling our staff with ways to keep our students engaged and develop twenty-first century skills that will make them employable. The superintendent we need is someone who is willing to take some risks and deviate somewhat from traditional education and usher in some technology initiatives that will engage our students as well as make teaching more multidimensional for this new generation. We are surrounded by similar communities to our own who are successfully rolling out technology into their system while we have not made the strides I would like to see being made here in Wilmington. We need a forward thinking progressive superintendent who will usher us into the twenty-first century and utilize the materials we already have as well as seek outside funding and financial means to acquire what we do not. The candidate who has proven to be well networked, fiscally resourceful, and financially creative would be what we should hope for as our superintendent.
One of my priorities is finding a superintendent who is progressive enough to understand that effective after school programs bring a wide range of benefits to youth, families and communities. After school programs can boost academic performance, promote physical health, reduce risky behaviors, and provide a safe, structured environment for the children of working parents. Participation in after school programs has been associated with reduced drug use and criminal behavior. We have asked the people of Wilmington to financially sacrifice to pay for these new buildings and there is no reason they need to shut their doors after the last class is over- in some ways this is the most important time of day for some of our young people here in Wilmington. I will personally attempt to see that we hire someone who also shares this understanding and vision.
Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.
Wilmington Apple 