Superintendent's Letter to Brown and
Countryside Communities
July 31,
2002
Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents and Students of Brown and
Countryside,
Today I am writing to you with news of some important
changes coming to your school in September.
Specifically. . .
• Dr. Judy Malone-Neville will be leaving Brown Middle School and
coming to work in my office as Assistant Superintendent of Schools;
• Mr. John Jordan will be moving from Countryside to assume the
principalship of Brown Middle School; and
• Ms. Sandra Delaney, Newton’s Academic Challenge Coordinator, will
serve as Acting Principal of Countryside for the 2002//03 school year.
That is a lot of information to digest at once, so let me
provide you with a little background as to how these changes came to be. During the summer, two assistant
superintendents, Dr. Jim Marini and Dr. Roseli Weiss, left the Newton Public
Schools for other opportunities. In
order to fill the resulting gaping holes in the central office, I reorganized
administrative responsibilities for the upcoming year and asked Dr. Neville to
lend her experience and intelligence to my immediate staff. (Judy explains further in the enclosed
letter to the Brown community.) This
created an opening at Brown, and I could think of no person more ready to lead
that school than Mr. Jordan, who has served with distinction as Countryside
School principal for thirteen years.
(The Countryside community will see John’s enclosed letter.) In order to fill the Countryside vacancy, I
sought an experienced Newton educator and administrator who understands how our
elementary schools work, and Sandy Delaney fits that bill.
These
appointments are in force for the 2002/03 school year only. At Brown and Countryside we will conduct
full, formal searches for permanent principals next winter. Both Mr. Jordan and Ms. Delaney may apply
for the permanent positions should they choose to do so. I will be in touch with the Brown and
Countryside communities in the coming months with more details about these
searches and the ways in which staff and parents will participate in the
decision-making process.
For now, please join me in saying congratulations, hello and
goodbye to Judy, John and Sandy as they accept these opportunities for
professional growth and assume their new roles. I know you will support them in the coming days.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey M. Young
Superintendent of Schools