Print

Hartford Schools Begin Search For New Superintendent

Process could wrap up by early 2011

By Jeff Cohen

November 19, 2010

The Hartford Board of Education has begun the process of looking for a new superintendent. WNPR’s Jeff Cohen has more.

Superintendent Steven Adamowski is leaving the district at the end of the school year. Earlier this year, the board decided to first search for an internal candidate to replace him. But board Chairwoman Ada Miranda said at a meeting this week that the search will be preceded by a series of community and stakeholder meetings.

“Once we develop the leadership profile, meaning what we want our next superintendent to be...we will post the position internally on January 3 with a closing date of January 21.”

Should that process not be successful, the board will start the external search process in early February.

Adamowski came to Hartford in 2006. He has made improving student test scores and raising graduation rates a priority, and he says that the city has begun to close the achievement gap.

Recently, some members of the board of education have argued that the district’s rising test scores are due in part to the exclusion of some of its special education students. That, says board member Robert Cotto, has contributed to the gains that Adamowski boasts. It’s a claim that the superintendent, and others on the board, reject outright.

Meanwhile, board member Elizabeth Brad Noel has recused herself from board activities. Her son-in-law, Tim Sullivan, is expected to be a candidate for the superintendent’s position.