It has been a busy week in the Portland School System!
Mrs. Lavery has notified me that she is retiring at the end of the 2014-2015 school year. It has been my pleasure to work with her this year, and I wish her my very best. She has been a beacon of positive energy for the Portland High School for nearly a decade and has successfully guided many students toward college, career and military service. Mrs. Lavery has played a vital role in the advancement of Portland High School and her service to the school community will be sorely missed. At the same time, we are excited for Mrs. Lavery and the personal opportunities that await her.
Portland now faces the challenging tasks of replacing Mrs. Lavery, and also of hiring a new Director of Student Services. Over the next two weeks, I will be preparing a timeline and search process that will lead to the eventual hiring of two new administrators. I will soon be meeting with the Board of Education when I will outline a proposed search process and obtain their input.
My goal, as always, is to seek input from our district’s various constituents. I plan to include parents, administrators, teachers, support staff and BOE members in the initial interview process. In addition, I will host an Administrator Search Forum for interested parents and another one for interested teachers and staff. These forums will be designed to discuss the needs of our system and the desired qualifications for Portland’s administrative candidates.
It is my desire to form two separate search committees whose members will interview chosen candidates and will recommend a select group of semi-finalists to me. A second round interview for semi-finalists will follow with me and may include a selected performance task in our school district. I will then forward my finalists to the BOE and appointments will be made by the BOE in late May. I anticipate a seamless transition of leadership on or before August 1, 2015.
While I am disappointed that we are losing Mrs. Lavery, I look forward to the new opportunities that change will bring to our school district, both at the high school and in our special education department.