Loring Principal Search
Please check here for periodic updates about the search for a new principal for the Israel Loring School following the announced retirement of current principal Clifton LaPorte.
New Principal Selected
Principal of Loring School: Jeffery Dees. Jeffery is currently the Interim Principal at the Oak Ridge School in Sandwich, MA. Prior to this assignment, he served as Principal in Mashpee, MA. and Assistant Principal and elementary teacher in Bentonville, AR. Mr. Dees is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University and earned his master's degree in educational administration from the University of Arkansas.
Loring Principal Search Update - March 19, 2008
The Loring visits and second interview of the finalists for the principal position were completed last week. Thank you to those who were able to participate and who provided reaction forms for each candidate. Each candidate was qualified and presented well. At this point, we have narrowed the search to two candidates: Jeffrey Dees, currently a principal in a Sandwich MA. K-8 school and Helene Levine, currently the Head of a NYC school. We are checking references and following up with both finalists. Early next week a team from the Sudbury will be traveling to the Cape for a site visit to Mr. Dees' school.
We will continue to do our due diligence in helping us make this important decision. It appears that we remain on schedule for an announcement of an appointment prior to April vacation.
LORING PRINCIPAL UPDATE - FINALISTS SELECTED - March 4, 2008
Following two full days of interviewing, we are happy to announce that three finalists have been selected to continue in the recruitment process to be the next principal of Loring Elementary. These finalists were selected from a very qualified pool of nine educators. Such decisions are always difficult, but the committee did an outstanding job of identifying administrators who possess the experience, skills and characteristics to be the next successful principal at Loring Elementary.
The finalists are (alphabetically):
Jeffery Dees: Currently interim principal at the Oak Ridge School in Sandwich, MA. He previously served as principal and assistant principal in Mashpee and Bentonville, AK. Jeff taught 5th and 2nd grade for eight years before moving into administration. Jeff earned a B.S in elementary education from Arkansas Tech University and a M.A in educational administration from the University of Arkansas. He will be at Loring on Thursday, March 13.
Thomas LaValley: Currently principal at the Bates School in Salem, MA. Tom taught for ten years in grades 3, 4, and 5 in Vermont and Warsaw, Poland. He has been a principal and assistant superintendent in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Tom earned his B.A. in elementary education and M.A. in reading and administration from Johnson State College (VT). He will be at Loring on Monday, March 10.
Helene Levine: Currently Head of the Lower School at The Cathedral School in NYC. The Cathedral School is an independent school with the Lower School serving grades k-4. Prior to this position, Helene was Language Arts Coordinator at the Thoreau School in Concord, MA and also in Naples, FL. She taught elementary school in the Bronx for eleven years. Helene graduated from Mills College with a B.S. in early childhood education; her M.S. in reading is from the College of New Rochelle. She will be at Loring on Friday, March 14.
Each candidate will be returning to spend time at Loring visiting with staff, students and parents. An interview team will conduct an in-depth interview with each at the end of the day.
The schedule for the day is attached. We hope as many parents as possible will be able to join us for the reception each day. This session, hosted by the Loring PTO, will be an opportunity to hear from the candidate and help welcome him/her to our school and town. A reaction form will be provided and we look forward to all comments and impressions.
We remain optimistic that we will have an appointment to fill the position created by Clifton LaPorte's retirement by the end of March.
Loring School On-Site Visit - March 10, 13 and 14, 2008
| Time | Topic | Host/Hostess | Location |
| 11:30am | Welcome to Loring & tour of the school | Barbara Cook Scott Bazydlo Student(s) | Main Office |
| 12:15-1:30 | Parent Reception | PTO Co-Chairs | Room 1 |
| 1:30-2:30 | Student Interview School Tour | Scott Bazydlo TBA Staff | Room TBA |
| 2:30-3:00 | Break | ||
| 3:00-3:45 | Staff Reception | Staff from 1st Interview | Library |
| 3:45-4:30 | SALT/CITs | Scott Bazydlo | Room 13-Conference Room |
| 4:45- | Final Interview | Team of district & school staff, parent, and school committee member | Library |
Loring Principal Search Update - February 26, 2008
We are happy to report that the first round of interviews for the principal position at Loring will occur later this week. We will interview nine candidates, all with previous administrative experience. These nine have been selected from an applicant pool of over 40 interested educators.
By early in the week of March 3, we should have our finalists identified. At that time we will announce those selected by the first interview team to proceed and a time line for the remainder of the recruiting and hiring process. I am happy to report that we remain on our fairly ambitious schedule and are confident that we will name a new principal by April vacation.
To encourage applicants to apply and to protect their confidentiality in the process, we do not release the names of those individuals who have applied or are being interviewed in the first round. Information on the finalists will be released to the Loring community when they are identified.
Updates on the process will be forthcoming.
Parent Meeting
Monday, Feb 11 @ 7:00 pm
Loring Library
Superintendent John Brackett will meet with parents in the Loring Library on Monday, February 11 at 7:00 pm to gather input on the skills, experiences and characteristics important to the new principal's success. Dr. Brackett will review the timeline and process, but most of the evening will be listening to parents' comments and perceptions.
The input received will be used to construct a principal profile. A similar profile will be developed using information collected from the staff. These will be provided the members of the selection team and ultimately to the person chosen to lead Loring School as principal beginning in 2008-09.
For those parents unable to attend this meeting, a profile questionnaire will be available in the near future, on line and at the school which can be completed and returned to the superintendent.
Documents
The following documents contain information about the search:
- the announcement of the position posted in the Boston Globe
- the search process and time line
- a questionnaire about skills, experiences and characteristics of the new principal(a focus group will be held to gather this information as well)
- a letter recently sent to parents about Mr. LaPorte's announcement