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Westwood launches search for director of student services and expands special-education review
Summary
Superintendent Tim announced a formal search for a permanent Director of Student Services with a Dec. 1 job posting and a screening process aimed at a School Committee vote on Feb. 5; the district also broadened a special-education review after staffing departures and a leadership change.
Superintendent Tim told the School Committee on Nov. 20 that Westwood Public Schools will open a search for a permanent Director of Student Services after the August departure of Sue Maselli and an interim period led by Lori Cimino. "We'll release the job posting and description on December 1," Tim said, and outlined a screening process intended to identify finalists for site visits and recommendation to the superintendent for committee approval at the Feb. 5 meeting.
The superintendent described a multi-stage process: a screening-team application window that begins Dec. 1 and closes Dec. 15, an anti-bias kickoff meeting for the screening team on Jan. 7, a job posting close on Jan. 12, and finalist site visits during the week of Jan. 26. Tim said the screening team will include administrators, staff, families and a School Committee representative, and that finalists will meet staff, families and students before a superintendent recommendation.
Separately, Tim said the district is expanding the scope of a contracted special-education review by Regus Associates (led by Bill Lupini and Karen Schmulker) because of a department leadership change and a notable loss of ABA-tutor staff in the WALA program at Pine Hill. "We want to make sure that general education teachers are interviewed because special ed should not be an island," he said, adding that the consultant will interview additional staff and families and conduct a broader survey. The expanded work pushed the consultant report from the December meeting to January; Tim said preliminary recommendations will be available internally to help shape the FY27 budget.
The superintendent stressed that the final hire for Director of Student Services requires a School Committee vote on the superintendent's recommendation under state law. The timeline and expanded review aim to balance thoroughness with a goal of completing the search before February vacation.
What's next: the job will be posted Dec. 1, screening-team applicants will be selected in mid-December, the screening team will convene in early January, and finalist visits are planned for the week of Jan. 26, with a superintendent recommendation expected for the Feb. 5 School Committee meeting.
