Dear Families,
I hope you are all well. I wanted to reach out to you all with news about me.
My wife and I have decided that a job change is best for our health and wellness. I will be getting done as superintendent in Hermon. The district will look to interim services beginning in April for at least the remainder of the school year, that ball is rolling and I will help with those transitions and attend to HSD priorities in order to be ready for the 2022-23 school year. I will be available after that date to be helpful.
I have another opportunity that will decrease both stress and my 100-mile commute, something that we are excited about. I know the timing is not perfect but it is the timing of their hiring cycle.
I admire our students, staff, and families for two years of pandemic adjustments. I remember last year’s high school outdoor graduation without masks! There was a great sense of accomplishment in the air, for our graduates and for what looked to be a return to more normal times. COVID, however, had other ideas and we are now approaching two years working in a pandemic mode. It does appear that the virus is waning and will bring with it protocol relief which should bring some refreshment for all of us. Although it has been beyond exhausting, I am grateful to be the one to help get us through this part of Hermon's history. This is a good place. My first place as a teacher.
There are so many wonderful educators, support staff, and school leaders in Hermon who have braved the COVID-world, adjusting to evolving CDC/SOP requirements in order to deliver learning for students under less than desired conditions. Nonetheless, our great staff transported kids to school on time, fed and nurtured them, provided learning, implemented remote education, adjusted athletic and club activities, implemented 1:1 technology, worked with hybrid schedules, NEASC visits, mental health needs, ... it goes on and on. "Heroes don't look like they used to, they look like you do." Alternate Routes
The school committee has supported students during this unprecedented time and I am proud of their accomplishments. These include a 1:1 K-12 computing environment, outdoor education, new roofs and parking lots, new buses, a competitive teacher contract, an exemplar accreditation report, two additional nurses, academic interventionists, air filtration, expanded mental health services, adjusted work and school schedules, contact tracing, delta and omicron issues, quarantines and pool testing.
In addition, we presented a budget that realized no local tax increase, corrected the foodservice shortfall (caused by the required hybrid schedule of ‘21), and provided a local program for daycare for working parents and HSD staff. We implemented a new accounting software, and our audits are stellar. We are in the process of strengthening our technology network and integration, installing a new track and field facility, and other initiatives. I am excited about our March in-service for technology integration with Apple Computer.
I do wish that my tenure was closer to five years (it feels like 30 in dog years :-)) and I apologize for causing people to transition, I subscribe to family first (five grandchildren and counting) and this decision is best for us.
Thanks for your teamwork.
Jim
Go Hawks!