Glasheen ready to help Holyoke Public Schools as next superintendent

Jackie Glasheen being interviewed before she was selected as the new superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools. Reminder Publishing recently sat down with her to discuss her goals for the upcoming year.
Reminder Publishing file photo

HOLYOKE — Jackie Glasheen is about as Holyoke as it gets. She’s originally from the city, graduated from Holyoke High School, had children who graduated from the Holyoke Public Schools system, and will now lead that same district as its next superintendent.

“I’ve never left,” Glasheen said in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

Before taking the HPS superintendent job, Glasheen served as the district’s assistant superintendent since June 2025. Before that, she spent three decades at Holyoke Public Schools educating students as a substitute teacher, special education teacher, assistant principal, school supervisor and principal.

After interviewing three finalists, the Holyoke School Committee selected Glasheen as the district’s next superintendent during a meeting on Feb. 12.

The position became available after interim Superintendent Anthony Soto did not want the permanent role. Instead, Soto was granted a three-year contract to become the School Department’s chief of finance and operations.

“When he made it clear to me that he was not going to pursue the superintendent seat, for his own reasons, I was like, ‘I’m doing it,’” said Glasheen, who officially became superintendent on July 1. “For me, it was the right time. I still get to pick his brain and all his knowledge.”

Glasheen’s tenure as superintendent will mark the first time in more than a decade that HPS is led by a superintendent who was selected by the Holyoke School Committee following an intensive search and interview process. HPS is approaching its second school year under local control this September.

Glasheen said that she, Soto, and the rest of the administration team created a strong strategic plan that they plan to follow for this upcoming year. Concurrently, she acknowledged that she needs to spend the next five months listening and learning from the community.

“I need to hear from schools, from teachers, from principals, from community partners. What’s going really well, what’s not going so well; do you see some gaps that you would like the new superintendent to address? And really gather some data so that we can then create a new strategic plan to address the needs we’re seeing as we move out of [receivership].”

Although she has been rooted in the community and district for a long time, Glasheen’s first few weeks have been about learning systems and policies that she was not aware of in her previous roles.

So far, she’s leaned on experts such as Soto, School Committee Chair Yadilette Rivera Colón and School Committee member Devin Sheehan for answers to her questions.

“The first few weeks have been daunting, but I know I am right for the role,” Glasheen stated. “I know that we’re going to work together to move the Holyoke Public Schools forward, and I’m really excited.”

Regarding the current budget landscape, the new Holyoke superintendent said she feels very good about where the district currently is fiscally. She acknowledged that there will probably be some tough decisions in fiscal year 2027, FY28, and beyond, but she is hopeful that she and her team will fill any potential gaps that the district may have with the funds they currently possess.

“Any physical decisions that we’re making in budgets to come are gonna be driven by what we need for students,” Glasheen explained. “Defining what we do [and what] we need in order to make students successful and funding those first.”

After year one, Glasheen said she would love to see Holyoke’s student achievement numbers increase, and the gap between Holyoke’s students with disabilities and Holyoke’s general education students get smaller.

“We institute our priority of high-quality instruction that includes inclusive practices, which is a priority of ours this year, and we are focused on that,” Glasheen stated.

She also said it would be a success if the district could launch a new strategic plan by next spring, “so that my community [and] the School Department are very clear on where we are, where we are going and how we are going to know if we are successful.”

Glasheen said that a huge positive at Holyoke Public Schools is the staff that’s already there, whether it’s the custodial staff, the food service staff, the paraprofessionals, the teachers and the administration team.

“I am 100% convinced we have the right people in the right seats, so that is definitely a plus for us,” Glasheen said. “Every parent I talked to would say the same. They’re pleased with their teachers, they like the staff that works with their students, but they would also like us to ensure that all kids get what they need, whether it’s a behavioral need or an academic need or a social-emotional need.”

In a message to the community, Glasheen said it’s important for her to hear feedback from students, staff and families about what they need to succeed. She said that her door is always open.

“I have sat in parent seats. I’ve been a partner, I’m an employee, and I know how important it is to have your concerns heard or also have the celebrations heard,” Glasheen said. “I encourage this community to reach out to me and tell me what they think is going really well, and then also let me know if they see a gap that needs to be filled.”