Northampton Focus Groups

 

For Immediate Release

 

TO: Northampton School Committee and Northampton School Community

FROM: Joshua Dickson, Superintendent Search Committee Chair

DATE: March 6, 2023

RE: Superintendent Search Committee Finalist Candidates 

 

On behalf of the Superintendent Search Committee, I am pleased to announce that we have identified four finalist candidates for the next Superintendent of the Northampton Public Schools. Over the course of the past few weeks, the Superintendent Search Committee has been working diligently to review applications, conduct initial interviews, and deliberate on the strongest candidates to recommend to the full School Committee. The Screening Committee received a total of 11 applications. We were fortunate to receive a diverse pool of candidates, which included individuals from both Massachusetts, as well as educators from across the eastern seaboard. Of the 11 applicants, the Search Committee voted unanimously to interview a total of 8 candidates. After conducting the initial interviews, the Committee deliberated and chose to move forward a total of four candidates including (in alphabetical order):

• Dr. Portia Bonner – Educational Consultant and Interim Superintendent of School for the Bozrah Public School District in Bozrah, Connecticut.
• Dr. Jonathan Bruno – Director of Learning and Teaching in the Berkshire Hills Regional School District
• Dr. Marisa Mendonsa – Deputy Superintendent of the Pittsfield Public Schools 
• Dr. Tara Tiller – Chief Operations & Finance Officer of the Cheatham County School District in Ashland City, TN.

 

The Search Committee is honored to present such a strong, diverse, candidate pool to the full Northampton School Committee. It is the recommendation of the Search Committee that the full Committee conduct site visits and/or community forums in each candidate’s current/former district to gain a robust understanding of how diverse stakeholders viewed each potential candidate.

 

The Search Committee would like to extend a special thank you to both Liz Lafond from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), as well as Annie Thompson for all of their support, hard work, and dedication to this process. We could not have done it without you!

 

On a more personal note, I would like to thank all 9 members of our Search Committee for their dedication to this process and for bringing their unique perspective and lens as we searched for our next Superintendent. We were charged with a really time-intensive and important task. Each member rose to the challenge and did so with both poise and a sense of humor. I’d also like to thank the search committee members for being willing to share their own experiences within the Northampton Public Schools with potential candidates. It was truly remarkable to see how our small group grew closer throughout this process and I couldn’t be happier to have been a member of this amazing group! Finally, I’d like to give a special shout out to our two student representatives, Zara and Levi. Levi, good luck next year at Emerson College!

 

Dear NPS Community,

The Superintendent Search Committee met for the first time last night for an orientation with Liz Lafond, our Massachusetts Association of School Committee (MASC) guide. It was a very informative and productive 2-hour session. During the meeting, the members elected Joshua Dickson, Director of Student Services, the chair of the committee and Gwen Agna was elected the vice chair.  Additionally, we became familiar with the steps of the search process, reviewed the recommended timeline, set initial meeting dates, and began to learn more about each other as committee members.

Ms. Lafond noted that the initial review and discussion of candidates, as well semi-finalist interviews will be completed in executive session. The Search Committee was advised that this is done to protect the confidentiality of candidates, as well as to not jeopardize the candidates’ current employment. The hope is that there will be 3 finalists sent from the search committee to the full School Committee. When this occurs, finalists will be announced publicly.

We are very grateful to all who volunteered to serve on the search committee. As the mayor said, we wish that all who volunteered could serve but she decided, on MASC recommendation, to limit the size to 15 members. We encourage you to fill out the community survey posted on the NPS website. Your input will be critical to the School Committee’s decision-making. The community survey results will be shared with the School Committee, to inform their decision-making process when they deliberate the finalist candidates.