NORTHAMPTON — After three public interviews and an intensive discussion at a special meeting Thursday, the School Committee voted to hire Howard “Jake” Eberwein III to serve as interim superintendent of Northampton Public Schools for up to one year until a permanent superintendent is hired.
Eberwein, a resident of Dalton, is an educational consultant, project manager and school committee member in Berkshire County, a former principal and also served as an administrator at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.
Ward 7 School Committee member Kaia Goleman cast the sole no vote for hiring Eberwein, a former superintendent in Pittsfield and Lee, saying earlier in the meeting that she preferred candidate Jannell Pearson-Campbell, although she spoke highly of Eberwein’s “impressive” qualifications, answers to questions and inclusive leadership approach.
“I’m currently working on a project that involves a consortium of districts across Berkshire County and we’re exploring some of the challenges that we face in the region, including declining enrollment and challenging resources,” Eberwein said. “I like situations in which I can come in, work with people, solve problems and manage projects, so I guess that’s what draws me to you.”
He said the “first order of business” is to ensure appropriate staffing and a strong leadership team are in place to complete the work that must be done before schools open in September.
“I’m a fairly easygoing guy to work with in terms of accessibility,” Eberwein said, “but I think people who work with me will tend to report that they work really hard, and in some cases, they’ll even report that they’ve worked harder than they’ve ever worked before. … It’s sort of a tough-love approach.”
It was not immediately clear when Eberwein will start in his new role. He said he would need at least a week to “button up” the consulting work he’s involved in and he has a family vacation scheduled in August.
The School Committee also voted to appoint Susan Wright, who served as the city’s finance director from 2011-21, as acting superintendent until Eberwein begins work. Wright is currently the interim business manager for the school district and will continue in both roles.
Former Northampton Superintendent John Provost started as chief of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District on July 1. A separate search is developing in order to find his permanent replacement.
School Committee Vice Chairwoman Gwen Agna said that seven of the 11 interim superintendent applicants “met the minimum qualifications, so we then screened for some of the other elements of our posting that we thought were important and we found five candidates who we decided we wanted to interview.”
Besides Eberwein, the other two finalists interviewed in public were Pearson-Campbell, a former assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in the Old Rochester Regional School District in Plymouth County, and Marlene DiLeo, superintendent in Ware.
“If I was going with my heart, I would clearly go with Dr. Pearson-Campbell” because of her goal of healing fractured relationships and building community, member Margaret Miller of Ward 6 said, “but I have to say that I’m torn” because Eberwein has the necessary skill, experience and creativity for the job.
Ward 1 member Margaret Robbins said Eberwein “ticked all the boxes” and she hopes Pearson-Campbell keeps Northampton “in mind” when the committee posts the permanent superintendent opening. She said DiLeo was “quite impressive as well, but I was discouraged that her start date” could not be made clear because she is still actively employed by another district.
The committee interviewed the candidates back-to-back and asked about their management styles and approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as issues like a high number of central office and teacher vacancies, healing divides in the community and keeping lines of communication open between a variety of stakeholders.
A former classroom teacher, principal and assistant director of education, Pearson-Campbell said her philosophy focuses on college and career readiness for all students. She said she also has experience writing grants and leading professional development.
“I just want to say that I am a third-generation Black American educator and my journey here has been a long one, but it’s also prepared me for this opportunity,” Pearson-Campbell told the committee. “Why now? It’s because I can bring people together on behalf of the students.”
Asked by the committee what she has learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pearson-Campbell related a personal tragedy.
“In 2020, I lost my father, and one of the things I learned was just taking care of people,” she said. “Take care of people first and education will come. … As you hear by my voice, I try to talk soothing because we don’t know what people have lost during this pandemic. It could be a family member, it could be a job, it could be their tradition.”
DiLeo told the committee she has worked in Ware public schools for 14 years, including eight as superintendent, and “I need you to know that I’m a think-outside-the-box kind of person.” She said the hiring of a full-time business manager is a top priority, along with quickly building relationships across the district.
“Once I come in, once you see what type of a leader I am, what kind of worker I am, what kind of ethics that I bring to the position, you may say to me, ‘Hey, do you think you want to stay another year or two?’” DiLeo said. “I think that could be a win-win situation for both of us.”
She said the superintendent should spend time in school buildings to observe staff-student interactions and make sure students know their district leader, and her experience as a principal gives her the perspective to assist and coach administrators.
Asked about her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, DiLeo said she takes the work “very personally.”
“I’m married to a woman. I’ve been with my partner for 20 years, married for 16, raised two children. Twins, 26,” DiLeo said. “The world we live in is getting, really, kind of crazy, and we need to make sure that children, students, staff have a clear understanding that … no one person is any better or any less than anyone else.”
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.