April 3, 2007

INFORMATION FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES AT PENTUCKET REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

 I.  Sweetsir School Principal / Bagnall School Assistant Principal

     I am most pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Patty Messina as the new Sweetsir School Principal. Mrs. Angela Jervey is retiring after 37 years serving the Town of Merrimac . Patty is an experienced educator with a strong curriculum and early childhood background. Currently she is the principal of the PreK - 5 Captain Samuel Brown School in Peabody , Massachusetts . Like Sweetsir, this school also houses many of their district based early childhood special education programs. Prior to arriving at the Brown School in 2004, Patty served as a Curriculum Coordinator for the Winthrop Public Schools for seven (7) years from 1997 - 2004 where she was responsible for coordinating the PreK – 12 Curriculum for the MA State Curriculum Frameworks which are the basis for the MCAS testing. Patty was a primary grade classroom teacher also in Winthrop for six (6) years from 1991 - 1997. Her earlier experiences were as a primary teacher in Lynn and a private kindergarten teacher in Winthrop . She earned a Masters of Education Degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Salem State College.

      Please join me in welcoming Patty to our district. She may attend several events at Sweetsir School where you will have an opportunity to welcome her prior to the end of school as her schedule allows. Officially, she will start on July 1, 2007. I wish to publicly thank the teachers, parents, community members, and administrators that helped us with the initial screening interviews and the site visit process to help us make this positive decision for the future of Sweetsir School .

      Shawn Maguire, Assistant Principal at the Bagnall School , has accepted the Principals’ position at Rockport Elementary School in Rockport effective July 1, 2007.  We will be advertising for this position to have a replacement in place by the start of the next school year.

  II. Middle School and High School Principals

     I have also received a resignation letter from Arlene Townes, High School Principal. Mrs. Townes is retiring as of June 30, 2007 after serving at the High School for 9 years. For this transition to happen smoothly, I have done some planning on how to maintain stability within the district. It must be recognized that a search for a strong high school principal would be difficult this late in the school year in order to have someone on board for July 1st.

      Mr. Binaghi, Principal at the Middle School, was planning on retiring this coming December 2007. In discussion with him, he is willing to extend his retirement date until June 30, 2008. Therefore, I have decided to appoint Mr. Binaghi as High School Principal for one year. I am also pleased to elevate Robin Wilson to the position of Middle School Principal. We will advertise for an assistant principal at the middle school level. In my efforts to stabilize all aspects of Pentucket Regional School District , I feel that these are the proper changes to make. We will advertise in December for a high school principal with the hope of filling the position by February vacation of 2008 for a start date of July 1, 2008. The process will be inclusive of staff, students, parents, community members and administrators. Please contact me should you have any questions.  

     We are fortunate to have two fine educators at Pentucket in Renzo Binaghi and Robin Wilson .  Mrs. Wilson has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Bridgewater State College and a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from Cambridge College . Robin has been the Assistant Principal of the Middle School since 2000. Prior to that, she served as the Assistant Principal and Student Services Coordinator at the Marblehead Community Charter School and as a middle school teacher in Newfields and Fremont , New Hampshire . Mrs. Wilson also worked for the Massachusetts Prevention Center in Salem , MA as an At-Risk Youth Prevention Specialist. 

     Mr. Binaghi is a graduate of Eastern Nazarene College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Masters Degree in Education with a focus in Counseling, and further graduate work in Educational Administration from Salem State , Wright State University in Dayton , Ohio and the University of New Hampshire . Prior to his work at Pentucket for the last 14 years, his previous teaching and administrative positions were with the Methuen Public Schools, New Lebanon Local Schools in New Lebanon, Ohio, and in several counseling and therapeutic schools and health centers. Please help me in welcoming them into their new roles within our schools.