Lee Public Schools superintendent interviews for Pittsfield job

PITTSFIELD – The first two interviews for the new superintendent of schools brought forward two qualified candidates.

On Tuesday night (Jan. 29), Lee Public Schools Superintendent Jason P. McCandless interviewed for the job in Pittsfield, where he lives and his three children attend school.

When asked by the school committee about the commitment he would give to Pittsfield Public Schools if hired as superintendent, Dr. McCandless simply said, “I have a daughter in fourth grade.”

He added, “This community needs somebody to be here for a decade. I would want to be here for the long haul.”

One of the focal points of his interview was his commitment to the City of Pittsfield, as he has been a resident for nearly 11 years. In fact, he said he hopes the best candidate for the superintendent position gets the job, even if it’s not him.

“I hope desperately that the best person for this job gets it,” he told the Pittsfield School Committee. “If it’s me, great. If not, they have my support as a neighboring superintendent and as a dad.”

Dr. McCandless also highlighted some of the work he’s done in the last 10 and a half years in Lee, including a recent growth in the Advanced Placement (AP) program, which went from 16-17 kids in previous years to 80 kids this school year due to expanded offerings.

He also cited Lee’s response to intervention model, which dropped the number of special education students from the 25 percent to 15 percent.

“That is the direct outcome of putting more effort into solving problems right then and there,” Dr. McCandless said.

He also mentioned his work in changing the ratio of students choicing in to those choicing out of Lee, which he said has gone from two-to-one to one-to-two during his time in the district.

Dr. McCandless was named Lee superintendent in 2005, and prior to that, he was the principal at Lee Middle and High School for three years. His other work history includes time as an English teacher and a football coach.

William Hart

On Monday night (Jan. 28), the Pittsfield School Committee interviewed Pentucket Regional School District Assistant Superintendent William “Bill” Hart.

“It’s an honor to be one of the finalists for your superintendent position,” Dr. Hart said.

In the interview, he highlighted his work in promoting Pentucket as a hotbed for 21st-century learning and developing professional learning committees, adding he wrote his doctorate on highly effective teams.

He also spoke at length about his collaborative skills and the work he did as principal at Leominster High School in starting an advisory program where each student would have one teacher or “advocate” in the building to make them feel more at home.

Dr. Hart said the issue was first met with some resistance by teachers, but when he took the time to step back and work on building the advisory program with the teachers, he got their full approval.

He also spoke on school choice, saying the solution to curbing the growing issue in Pittsfield is simply to “do better” as a district in what it offers students.

“[Then] you become the district of choice,” he said.

Dr. Hart said promoting the district and the schools is an important part of drawing more interest.

“You want to be getting to the tallest building and yelling as loud as you can,” he said.

Both finalists spoke at length about the importance of growing Pittsfield’s vocational programming and the proposed renovations to Taconic High School.

“You have a wonderful opportunity here,” Dr. Hart said.

On the issue of residency, Dr. Hart said, “I will live in Pittsfield if I’m hired as your superintendent.”

He also expressed an interest similar to Dr. McCandless’ in staying in Pittsfield for the long haul.

“I’m looking for my last job,” he said. “I hope we’ll be working together for 10-12 years.”

Dr. Hart has been assistant superintendent in Pentucket since 2005. Prior to that, he served as a high school principal and a teacher in other districts.

The final superintendent finalist interview, with Mashpee Public Schools Superintendent Ann M. Bradshaw, is scheduled for Monday (Feb. 4) at 6:30 p.m. in the Pittsfield High School library. The school committee will make its decision on who to hire at its regular Feb. 27 meeting, at 6 p.m. in the PHS library. Both sessions are open to the public.

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on January 31, 2013. Filed under Education News,Featured,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry