Adams-Cheshire Offering Gordon Superintendent Job
 After interviewing Kristen Gordon for more than an hour, the School Committee agreed to being negotiations with her for the superintendent position. |
The Adams-Cheshire Regional School District previously appointed the C.T. Plunkett Elementary School principal to shadow Skrocki and become the interim superintendent while the committee performed a national search.
However, with Hoosac Valley High School Principal Henry Duval stepping down to a lesser role, the district was worried about continuity. That and since Gordon has been transitioning well into the position, led the committee to rethink its national search.
"There has been a change in the mood on the committee," Butler said. "We have a great candidate internally."
The full search would be suspended if Butler and Gordon reach an agreement and an appointment could be as early as next week, Butler said.
Gordon has been the principal at Plunkett for nearly 10 years. She started her education career as a camp counselor, later a special education teacher and continued up the educational career ladder. On Monday, she interviewed with the board and said she is falling in love with the position.
If hired, Gordon said one of her top priorities would be to keep students from districting out. The school has seen a lot of local students leave the school district by either school choice or as part of a transient population. One of her first goals would be to find out all of the problems that are causing the students to leave and correct them.
"I want to see kids start in kindergarten and graduate with the same group," Gordon told the committee. "Any kid can achieve but it's hard if they go to four different schools."
The committee peppered her with questions for more than an hour about the strengths and weaknesses of both the school and herself.
There is a major transition facing the high school with the middle and high school students moving back into a renovated building together, so this is the perfect time, she said, to get all of the staff "on the same page" with their goals and mission as well as a chance to emphasis the school's strengths.
"I am a big systems person. I've worked really hard at Plunkett at getting the right systems in place," Gordon told the committee. "When they are in place and working, it can be a well-oiled machine."
Gordon said she would manage the district in a consistent fashion. Whether it be behavior rubrics or grades, she told the committee that she would want every staff member to be consistent. In a perfect school system, Gordon said parents would not feel the need to pick and choose specific teachers.
By getting all of the teachers excited and moving in the same direction, Gordon feels she can improve student achievement. Leading a collaborative effort is where she said she does the best.
"When you collaborate, not everyone will get what they want but everyone will be heard," Gordon said.
Collaboration will also be with other organizations. For example, she would continue the school district's partnership with the district attorney's office to combat bullying. Collaborating with organizations can put the district in a better place to secure grants, she said, and possibly share teachers to help retain programming, such as Latin.
Whether it is parents or staff, Gordon said she believes in being honest. If a parent has a complaint she said she will tell them the steps she needs to take and a time line on when it will happen. Teachers may not get what they want, but they will still support decisions if everything is done openly and honestly, she said.
It also helps to earn trust, Gordon said.
"You really need to come through for people. If a teacher needs help, you can't leave them out on a limb," she said. "My first pep talk would be that we are a team."
For parents, Gordon said she would like to implement a policy that requires the administration to respond to complaints immediately. Not only will that show that the teachers care for the students but also tame complaints from becoming gossip by showing parents that they are definitely working on solving problems.
Gordon said that as principal, she always told the staff that she wants to hear rumors so she can set the record straight. Beyond just answering questions, Gordon said she would like to implement weekly newsletters to the staff, improve the district's websites and have monthly emails sent to parents.
Additionally, she said she would take an active role in the community by making an effort to attend many school events so parents will have access to her.
"It's more than just being a leader. It's having that care for the kids," Gordon said. "Being present and out there is important."
Gordon said she gathers all of the data and brings everyone involved to the table when problem solving. Part of her goals as superintendent would be to make sure she has a pulse of what is going on at the school.
"You need to know where your school is at, period," Gordon said.
That involves surveying the students with questions about how they feel about the teachers, visiting the schools, judging how engaged the students are and having weekly meetings with staff.
However, her open-door policy is what she also considers a weakness at times, because she finds herself falling behind on work and having to catch up by working long days on the weekends, which can be taxing.
"I'm really not good at closing the door," Gordon said. "As a principal you can't get work done unless you close the door."
Her strength is getting everybody on board and having the ability to make the difficult choices with staff that is not on board, she said. She told stories of tough situations she's been involved in as principal and decisions she's made to show her style.
"You're either on board or get off the boat," she said. "I feel I am pretty good at getting people on board."
Gordon emphasized her priorities of maintaining a safe school climate and improving the student achievement numbers.
"Five years from now, I see an improvement in student achievement," she said.
Tags: Adams-Cheshire, search committee, superintendent,
