EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Public Schools has named a new Superintendent in Michelle Balch, marking the close of a lengthy saga of searching for the district’s new head.
Balch was voted unanimously to become the district’s new superintendent during the School Committee’s Dec. 17 meeting, during which the committee took turns member by member, going through their final thoughts of each candidate. Over the two weeks prior to the meeting, the School Committee had begun its one-on-one public interviews with Balch and the other two candidates Cynthia Kennedy and Mary Jane Rickson.
Balch has spent almost all of the last 20 years working for the Springfield Public School District. Her most recent role for Springfield was as the chief instructional officer. Balch said during her interview with the School Committee on Dec. 12 that her communication and cultivating relationships is a very important part of her work, but she was craving the opportunity to do the same work among a smaller, tight-knit community like Easthampton.
“I feel like I could spend a long time here,” Balch said of Easthampton during her interview.
During the interview Easthampton School Committee Chair Laura Scott applauded Balch’s comments and her assessment of the district in such a short time to become more familiar. She added many of the things Balch mentioned were things the school committee had previously been discussing amongst themselves.
The full interview and discussion from the Dec. 12 meeting can be viewed on the Easthampton Media YouTube channel.
“She had done her homework. She knew what she wanted to do and she’s ready to hit the ground running. She’s ready to walk into the building and do the job. I found that very impressive,” said School Committee member Linda Markee.
School Committee member Eric Guyette added Balch stood out through her passion and energy that he felt the district would absolutely benefit from.
“This is something that on paper, all three are fantastic. But when you take the paper away and look at your surroundings, there was a major difference that I noticed with Dr. Balch that was profound and I think it was really meaningful,” Guyette added.
Members from the district’s Superintendent Search Committee began the meeting with recommendations for the candidate they felt was the best option following this interview process. Representatives from the School Committee also visited the current districts of all three candidates prior to the interviews to gain a firsthand perspective of how they operate in their current district homes.
The search committee recommended Balch as the best choice, citing her experience and achievements with improving student outcomes and adaptive approach to education.
To review the entire meeting and discussion, as well as the individual interviews with each candidate, recordings of those meetings are available on the Easthampton Media YouTube channel.
The selection of Balch ends a lengthy saga for the city in finding a new superintendent after a tumultuous couple of years and a previously failed superintendent search in 2023 that made national news. Eventually, the department named former Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda as the interim superintendent in June 2023. She has been serving in that role since then. In order to stay on as the superintendent for the 2024-25 school year, the district needed approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
School Committee Chair Laura Scott through her closing remarks credited School Committee members and members of the search committee who worked hard to resolve a big vacancy for the community.
“It takes a village for sure. We have been through it as some have alluded to. This School Committee made a conscious effort that we’re not just going to do this better, we’re going to do this perfect and we have worked for a long time to get as close to perfection as possible because we felt that’s what this district deserves,” said chair Laura Scott before the final vote. “This district has had some hard knocks that it didn’t deserve, and we were gonna set that record straight as much as was within our power to do so. These members are incredibly articulate, thoughtful and dedicated people that the city should have a higher level of gratitude for.”
