Longmeadow Middle School Principal meets with the School Committee.
Photo credit: LongmeadowTV
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow Public Schools has officially shut the doors, and the School Committee has completed its final meeting for the 2025-2026 school year, welcoming the summer with new committee and district roles.
The School Committee reorganized for the 2026-2027 school year and officially met Longmeadow Middle School Principal Dr. Peter Gillen ahead of his July 16 start date at its meeting on June 23.
This marked the first meeting for School Committee members Bisrat Abebe and Matthew Casale after their election wins on June 2. Former Chair Michaela Fitzgerald and School Committee member Adam Rosenblum did not run for reelection and had their final meetings on May 26.
School Committee member Kate Bean nominated member Nicole Choiniere to become the 2026-2027 chair. Choiniere won reelection to her third three-year term on June 2. School Committee member Emily Hanson received the vice chair title and Bean kept her clerk title.
Superintendent Martin O’Shea welcomed Gillen in and stated he was “very pleased and very excited” to introduce Gillen to the committee and the community.
“[Gillen] will go down in history as the first principal of the new Longmeadow Middle School,” O’Shea said. “We’re really excited to have you join us.”
O’Shea said that the committee had Gillen’s resume and knew his professional experience, but having him at the meeting was a way to get to know him beyond the job titles.
“He comes to us with a successful experience as the principal of the West Springfield Middle School,” O’Shea said. “It’s a large complex, very successful middle school just across the river and we’re excited to have Pete join us.”
O’Shea said this position is unlike any other traditional position that he’s had an opportunity to hire for and that it will be involved in creating an entirely new identity for a brand new school.
“With that new identity comes potentially new curriculum, new programming, new schedules, new identity, new mascot, new school colors, on and on and on,” O’Shea said. “There’ll be certainly plenty to keep Dr. Gillen busy over the next couple of years.”
Until the school’s estimated fall 2028 opening, Gillen will be the school-based liaison for the construction, which O’Shea said is occurring “just feet away” from Williams Middle School.
“Thank you everyone for the warm welcome,” Gillen said. “I mean that sincerely and wholeheartedly. I’m thrilled to be here … I am elated to be a part of this community, a part of this project that takes two of the gold standard of middle schools and merges them into one in what really will be the blink of an eye and joining you in what I know will be a very successful construction project.”
He said the opportunity to build “the best middle school that the region has seen” is the driving reason for his interest in the position.
“I am grateful and excited and also appreciative,” Gillen said. “I cannot tell you how kind and warm the welcome has been from the Longmeadow community. Admittedly, I was a touch nervous in taking on the process of interviewing and going through all of the steps that it took to get here, but at every step of the way, there’s been warm smiles and kind words.”
O’Shea said Williams Middle School Principal Nicole Forys and Glenbrook Middle School Nikcole Allen will remain part of the administration will and the primary site leaders at their respective schools.
