Elizabeth Homan
Victoria Greer
The two final candidates seeking to be Arlington’s next school superintendent are scheduled for separate public appearances this week.
Dr. Victoria Greer and Dr. Elizabeth Holman are to appear informally for the community and in public interviews before the School Committee.
Community meetings are set for Zoom on Tuesday, Nov. 17, for Homan, and Greer on Wednesday, Nov. 18, both at 7 p.m., providing parents and caregivers the opportunity to meet and give feedback.
Register for Nov. 17 here >>
Register for Nov. 18 here >>
School Committee interviews
Interviews before the full School Committee are also scheduled — Greer on Thursday, Nov. 19, and Homan on Friday, Nov. 20, both at 6:30 p.m. in Zoom meetings, open to all.
Find Zoom link for Thursday here >>
Search process
In June 2019, Arlington’s superintendent, Dr. Kathleen Bodie, announced her intention to retire at the end of the 2020-21 school year. The School Committee has been actively engaged in hiring the next superintendent for more than a year.
A search process subcommittee conducted focus-group interviews last spring, and applications for the position were accepted in September. That month, a screening committee formed, with 15 members and two alternates.
The committee aimed to provide diverse viewpoints, and included teachers, administrators, parents and community members.
The members of that committee were: Kirsi Allison-Ampe, School Committee member; Komal Bhasi, parent; Margaret Credle-Thomas, Metco director; Joseph Curro Jr., Select Board member; Alison Elmer, special-education director; Ramona Nichols Granucci, parent; Inae Hwang, parent; Len Kardon, School Committee member; Junlei Li, parent; John Macuk, Arlington High School teacher; Maia Patel Masini, student; Mark McAneny, Bishop School principal; Karin Moellering, parent; Kim Pratt, Stratton Elementary School teacher; and Paul Schlichtman, School Committee member.
Alternates were: Sindhumathi Revuluri, parent; and Bea Croteau, AHS student.
On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the screening committee provided two finalists to the School Committee, and they were accepted by the full committee.
Feedback
An integral part of the hiring process is to solicit feedback about both candidates from the community. Parents and caregivers will have a chance to meet candidates and provide feedback to the School Committee via feedback forms.
See the form for Greer here >>
See the form for Homan here >>
To learn more about the steps in the process as well as the candidates, visit arlingtonsuper.com.
Greer
Greer brings a background in special education, curriculum and instruction to her roles in a progressively more responsible path to the superintendency. She arrived in Massachusetts after a lengthy career as a teacher, coordinator and director of instruction for the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
After that, she served as assistant superintendent in Cambridge, where she was recognized for her achievements in strengthening parent and family engagement, improving the integration of students in special education, expanding minority student opportunities in advanced placement coursework and expanded summer learning.
Encouraged to pursue a superintendency in Sharon by Cambridge Superintendent Jeff Young, she was hired there in 2017, where she remained until this year. In Sharon, she worked successfully with the town manager, Finance Committee and parents. Her work earned the strong support of Karla Baehr, former deputy commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Department, and the two School Committee chairs with whom she collaborated in Sharon during most of her work.
Greer earned her undergraduate and graduate credentials at Tennessee State University and a doctorate from Capella University.
Homan
Homan is now in her third year as assistant superintendent of the Waltham Public Schools, having been the administrator for EdTech Integration for three years before 2018. An Illinois native, she began her career as a middle and high school English language-arts teacher and high school speech-team coach in Indiana before moving to the University of Michigan for a Ph.D. in English and education.
Her first post in Massachusetts was as a digital learning specialist in the Boston Public Schools. She was recruited to Waltham by former superintendent Drew Echelson and now oversees curriculum and instruction for the school district.
She has focused on designing and leading professional learning, data informed leadership, antiracist strategies and collaboration with parents and teachers. She designed the equity, racial and cultural bias, and culturally responsive curriculum for the district.
Among her primary achievements was the work to align curriculum and establish professional development to narrow the achievement gap through collaboration and improve outcomes for all students. She was actively involved in leading the district efforts to address Covid and to incorporate student wellness and academic progress during this challenging time.
Nov. 11, 2020: Superintendent finalist brings strong hopes amid racial controversy
Nov. 4, 2020: 7-0 vote backs 2 candidates for new school superintendent
This extended news announcement was published Monday, Nov. 16, 2020.
