AMHERST — Amherst Regional High School Principal Talib Sadiq is expanding his oversight to the middle school for the next school year, according to a leadership plan unveiled by Superintendent Michael Morris last week.

With a recent failed search for a middle school principal to succeed Diego Sharon, who announced over the winter he would step down July 1 after three years at the helm, Morris notified families about the new structure for the two regional schools that educate grades 7-12 students from Amherst, Shutesbury, Pelham and Leverett.

The plan calls for Sadiq, who has been the high school principal since July 1, 2020, to be joined by two interim assistant principals at the middle school, Julio Fernandez and Rich Ferro, while the two assistant principals at the high school, Miki Gromacki and Samantha Camera, continue in their roles.

Fernandez is the current assistant principal at Fort River School and Ferro is a middle school science teacher who previously was the district’s athletic director.

“Both Mr. Fernandez and Mr. Ferro have administrative experience as well as direct experience at ARMS,” Morris wrote.

Morris thanked the five school staff members for taking on the expanded role as a search for a permanent principal resumes at some point.

Beyond the alignment of the curriculum, there will be other benefits to this arrangement.

“Additional mental health and counseling support, which is being supported by funding designated for mental health services at ARHS earmarked in the Massachusetts House budget, will also be put in place for students,” Morris wrote.

“This year of shared leadership will have profound, long-term benefits for students because it will provide an opportunity to begin the collaborative work of creating a fully aligned 7-12 educational continuum that draws on the unique strengths of both ARMS and ARHS,” Morris wrote.

A middle school principal search led to two finalists, Gabrielle Jackson and Tonya Brodd, both of whom dropped out. Jackson’s decision came after her public interview, while Brodd left before hers.

There were complications with the search, though, as an internal candidate, favored in a letter signed by 10 middle school educators and supported by another 12 anonymous educators, was sent to Morris, Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity and Human Resources Doreen Cunningham and the school committees, but was not put forward as a finalist.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>