Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Dinnall presents the two new assistant superintendent positions to the School Committee during its Feb. 11 meeting. Both positions were approved.
Photo credit: Focus Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield School Department is currently accepting applications for two new assistant superintendent positions that were recently established.
During its Feb. 11 meeting, the School Committee approved the implementation of an assistant superintendent of community engagement, family empowerment and partnerships position, along with an assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction and professional development position.
The two new positions are posted on the SPS website with salaries that range from $170,000 to $190,000. Both have an application deadline of March 4.
According to the SPS website, the chosen applicant for curriculum instruction and professional development position will be responsible for “leading development, implementation and evaluation of the district’s curriculum and instructional programs.” The position also requires expertise in other key roles, such as administrative leadership, professional development and budget and resource management.
“This role involves managing various administrative functions, ensuring compliance with educational standards and fostering a positive learning environment for students and staff,” the job posting says.
The person chosen for the community engagement, family empowerment and partnerships position will “lead the district’s efforts to build strong collaborative relationships between families, schools and the community,” according to the SPS website.
The job listing also states that this assistant superintendent will lead district efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism, improve overall student achievement and work to develop and manage relationships with external organizations, like nonprofits and community groups.
During the Feb. 11 meeting, Superintendent Sonia Dinnall said the community engagement, family empowerment and partnerships position was birthed out of district data and “urgent matters” that emerged from “Super Saturday” and “Super Sunday” community engagement activities where guardians provided feedback about what their child’s needs are.
She noted that this new position also came from her own findings within the first 100 days in the role of the superintendent.
Meanwhile, the creation of the curriculum instruction and professional development role comes after Michelle Balch, the former Springfield Public Schools chief instructional officer, recently took a job as the new superintendent in Easthampton.
“With her parting, it’s an opportunity for us to shift her position into one of assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and professional development,” Dinnall said. “In addition to absorbing several of the responsibilities that Dr. Balch currently has, this position would expand as well as include supervision of key departments in Springfield Public Schools.”
The approval of the two new positions comes weeks after the School Committee spent its organizational meeting discussing the possibility of reinstating any type of assistant superintendent to the School Department.
The discussions at the time were preliminary and centered around transparency and the process in which this position would be implemented. Lydia Martinez-Alvarez was the last person to serve an assistant superintendent role in the district until she retired in 2022.
According to the job postings on the SPS website, the candidates that are chosen for the two new assistant superintendent roles will work full time and report to Dinnall.
The job postings also state that the chosen candidates will begin immediately after hire.
