Hardy principal to make the switch in 2018
Parents and guardians met DeFrancisco and heard her thoughts about the former Gibbs School following renovation on Thursday, May 18, at the Hardy library, second floor. The town announced May 15 that construction is due to begin July 1. Details >>
UPDATED, May 17: Calling Kristin DeFrancisco the standout candidate “by far” to lead the former Gibbs School, Superintendent Kathleen Bodie announced her choice to the School Committee on Thursday, April 27.
Bodie said she “couldn’t be more pleased” with the job done by DeFrancisco, principal at Hardy for four years. She called her a “uniquely qualified” candidate who has taught sixth grade at Ottoson and at Dallin before the town had a sixth-through-eighth middle school as well as fifth-grade at Hardy.
DeFrancisco will continue to be Hardy principal during the 2017-18 school year, while working with a team of teachers and administrators to plan for the opening of the renovated former Gibbs School.
In an April 28 news release, Bodie cited the principal’s “deep experience in educational leadership, teaching in both middle and elementary schools, and her strong professional connections with principals and administrators across the district give her an excellent foundation for this role.
‘Share a vision’
“The district and Ms. DeFrancisco share a vision for the Gibbs as a school community that will provide a unique educational environment to support the transition of fifth-grade students to be successful in middle school and beyond in a welcoming and growth-mindset school culture.”
To the committee, Bodie said DeFrancisco had established a highly collaborative school that has embraced responsive classrooms, an evidence-based approach to elementary- and middle-school teaching that focuses on the strong link between academic success and social-emotional learning.
Bodie said DeFrancisco’s leadership provides “tangible evidence” about how well such classrooms work. “I’m proud of her,” she said.
In December, when the searches for Gibbs and Ottoson were announced, Bodie said she was aware of four or five internal candidates who might fit the job description at the former Gibbs.
One application
The news release does not say how many applied for the job, how many finalists there were or where they are from. YourArlington requested that information April 28, and Rob Spiegel, school human-resources director, responded Friday, May 5: “We had one internal candidate for the Gibbs Principal position, Kristin DeFrancisco. We did not post the position outside of the district.
“As the Superintendent has explained, we sought an internal candidate so that we could have someone who knows the District well and is in place during the coming school year, as we work on the transition to the Gibbs Grade 6 School. As the release says, Ms. DeFrancisco will continue as the Hardy principal in the 2017-2018 school year, and she will also work on the opening of the Gibbs. We believe that Ms. DeFrancisco is a great choice to lead the Gibbs, and we are very happy that she chose to apply for the position.”
Parents’ pleas in January
The appointment runs counter to requests parents made in January. An opinion contributed by Moriah Tyrrell of the Arlington School Enrollment Parent Group posted Jan. 13, says: “We are writing this letter to urge you to conduct an open search for the two middle school principal positions, Ottoson and Gibbs, rather than limiting the searches to internal candidates.” Those writing said the suggestions were based on opportunities for innovation, diversity and goal setting.
A week later, Jennifer Susse, who was then School Committee chair, commented on this issue with personal, unofficial views. She wrote, in part:
“I do believe that there are visionary educational leaders already in Arlington who can play this role, but if it turns out that no internal candidate is suitable an external search could always be done next year. We would lose the advantage of having someone involved in the planning process a year earlier who already knows the district, but those costs would be worth it if there were no appropriate internal candidates.”
In this case, the process did not head in the direction Susse imagined. Instead, it yielded an internal candidate that met strong favor with the superintendent.
Evening for parents planned
Bodie said the district plans to hold an evening meeting for parents and guardians to meet DeFrancisco. The date, time and location will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.
One-hour before the April 27 School Committee meeting, DeFrancisco emailed families on the Hardy email list that Bodie was to announce her appointment. “I will see you Out and About in Arlington for many more years to come,” she wrote.
Bodie told the committee that she Dr. Laura Chesson, her assistant, will cochair Gibbs planning committee.
In August, all-day training for sixth-grade teachers is expected occur over four days. Jason Levy, the teachers’ union president, said teachers supports such training, Bodie said.
Funds from the Arlington Education Association helped the administration afford this training, she said.
In response to his query, Jeff Thielman, committee chair, was told that parents and the committee can expect a presentation about the sixth-grade transition at some point.
Chesson said she is working with Vision 2020 for a June 13 event at Town Hall at a time to be announced.
DeFrancisco résumé
DeFrancisco’s résumé dates to 1996, when she taught sixth grade at a Medford private school. The next year, she taught sixth grade at Dallin. In 1998, when the sixth grades moved to Ottoson, so did she. There she stayed for seven years.
During this period, she received her master’s of arts in teaching and became certified in middle-school administration.
After a few years off to be at home with her two daughters, she returned to Hardy to teach third grade. For the next four years, she job-shared and served on many school and district leadership committees. She also got her second certificate, in elementary administration.
After returning full time to teach fifth grade at Hardy, she later became Hardy principal.
Ottoson update
As for the search for a permanent Ottoson principal, Bodie said: “We do not have strong candidates to put forward.”
She said the effort has two names, but not a third, and she would like to have that many, so candidates may be brought to Arlington for interviews with parents.
She said she thought she may know by the next meeting, May 11.
Member Bill Hayner asked whether she would consider keeping the interim principal, Eileen Driscoll Woods.
Considering that means seeking a waiver from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Bodie said. Via an earlier waiver, Woods came out of retirement to become interim principal.
She said the option would be on the table is the current search fails,
Woods is “very good for us …. She has a strong personality,” Hayner said.
Winchester visit
Ten members of the Arlington High School Building Committee recently visited the under-construction Winchester High School.
One of those attending, School Committee member Kirsi Allison-Ampe called what has been built so far “beautiful,” noting, “You can come up with a nice, functioning school [by] doing it in chunks.”
Bodie said that as construction continues, teaching takes place in grouped modular classrooms; 22 are now onsite.
“Is there an Arlington option for all new?” she asked, without answering, as that planning remains ahead.
In Woburn, she said, a new high school was built on its football field. “I don’t think that’s an option here,” she said. “We’ll look at it.”
She suggested the logistical issues here, as the football field behind AHS is an area of capped contamination, dating from a century earlier, when a gas plant occupied where the DPW Yard is now.
That’s in the future.
Current construction, searches
In the present, the Stratton project is on track to allow teachers to start moving classroom materials to the renovated building school is out for the summer.
As to Hardy, a Special Town Meeting plans to vote on six classrooms on Wednesday, May 3.
Bodie said she has no updated schedule for Thompson and the project is looking at a “possible delay.” To try to catch up, work is taking place Saturdays.
She said she expects a penalty will assessed for the delay, but she could not say how much that is yet.
Bodie also reported that searches are underway for the director of performing arts, social-emotional learning and world language.
The former two positions remain open following retirements in recent years. The last position is held by Catherine Ritz, who will be leaving to go on Boston University.
This news summary was published Sunday, April 30, 2017. It wasupdated May 5, with comment from human resources; May 10, to add meeting date; May 15, to add construction date; and May 17, to show location change.
