Callahan Named Finalist for North Adams Superintendent

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent Search Committee has put forward one candidate to lead the public schools: Assistant Superintendent Timothy Callahan.
 
The School Committee on Monday morning said Callahan, former principal of Drury High School, will be interviewed publicly at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, in the City Council Chambers. The session will be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television. 
 
Should the committee approve, he will succeed Barbara Malkas, who is retiring this June after nine years as superintendent. 
 
Callahan has worked in the North Adams Public Schools for 27 years, holding multiple positions. This has included teaching English at Drury, director of curriculum and instruction and assistant principal, and more recently director of technology for the district and, since 2022, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment. 
 
According to a statement from the School Committee, Callahan was selected as the leading choice after an extensive national search and careful consideration of numerous qualified candidates. The district received applications and the search committee conducted five Zoom interviews. 
 
He received his bachelor of arts in English literature from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., a master of education from Cambridge College, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y. His core values include equity, creativity, and collaboration, and he believes in setting high expectations for students while providing them with high levels of support.
 
During the public session next week, Callahan will be interviewed by the committee members as part of the final
evaluation process. The meeting will also be accessible via Zoom video conference and the link will be posted as part of the public meeting announcement.
 
While the committee will not hold a "hearing of visitors" during this meeting, students, faculty, staff, families, and community members are encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time via a Google form here. Questions must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 17, to be included for consideration.

Tags: search committee,   superintendent,   

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North Adams Updated on Schools, Council President Honored With 'Distinction'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff

Superintendent Timothy Callahan gives a presentation on the school system at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council got an update on what's up in the school system and its president was inducted into the mayor's Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, as the city's first woman mayor, established the Hall of Fame in 2022, during March, Women's History Month, to recognize local women who have had a positive impact on the city. Past inductees have included the council's first woman president Fran Buckley, Gov. Jane Swift and boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp. 
 
She described President Ashley Shade as a colleague and a friend and a former student. 
 
"Ashley is known not just for her leadership, but for her compassion, her ability to listen, to understand and to stand up for those whose voices are often gone unheard," the mayor said. "She has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ plus community and marginalized communities at both the local and national level here in North Adams."
 
Elected in 2021, Shade is the first openly transgender person to hold the role of council president in Massachusetts. She also leads the first-ever woman majority council in the city's history. 
 
The McCann Technical School graduate also has served on boards and commissions, "always working to make our city more inclusive, equitable and welcoming," said the mayor. "Ashley not leads not only with strength, but with a heart, and our community is a much stronger place because of it."
 
Shade, wearing her signature pink suit, was presented with a plaque from the mayor designating her a "woman of distinction."
 
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