One superintendent is stepping down and another was fired in a pair of sudden departures that appear to have taken community members by surprise.
Richard Atwill was fired by the school board after serving less than a year as superintendent of West Memphis School District in Arkansas. The four school members who voted to remove Atwill did not give reasons for their decisions, according to Action News 5. Willie Rhodes, a former assistant superintendent in nearby Memphis-Shelby County Schools in Tennessee, was named interim superintendent.
“Mr. Atwill is a pretty good guy,” West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon told WREG.com, “and I hope whatever decision is being made is being done in the best interests of our children.”
In Michigan, Superintendent Patrick Watson announced that he will resign from Bloomfield Hills Public Schools in July after leading the district for more than three years. Watson has been in hot water with the community since the district’s high school hosted an assembly in which a Palestinian activist and speaker made remarks some families considered to be anti-Semitic, The Oakland Press reported.
The school board has launched a review of the district policies in the wake of the controversial assembly. The high school’s principal has also been placed on leave, according to The Oakland Press.
In a statement shared with the website, Watson said his decision was driven by personal reasons and a desire to spend more time with his family.
Notable new hires
New Haven Public Schools in Connecticut has hired its first Hispanic superintendent in Madeline Negrón, who will replace the retiring Iline Tracey this summer. Negróni, a long-time urban educator, is currently the acting deputy superintendent of academics and school leadership for nearby Hartford Public Schools. She was previously New Haven’s director of instruction and of early childhood and also served as a principal and bilingual teacher in the district.
In another notable hire, Milton “Rob” Fields III has been named the lone finalist for superintendent of Judson ISD outside San Antonio, Texas. A graduate of one of the district’s high school, Fields has been Judson ISD’s interim superintendent since November 2022. He was previously the deputy superintendent of student services, an assistant superintendent of operations and a high school principal.
In other shifts
Hires:
- Jennifer Cannavo, replacing retiring Superintendent Maureen Long, Menands School District (New York)
- Bill Hoover, Waverly City Schools (Ohio)
- Donna McDaniel, DeKalb ISD (Texas)
- Courtney Szucs, Edwardsburg Public Schools (Michigan)
- Matthew VanOrman, Red Creek Central School District (New York)
- Paul Vicinus, West Hartford Public Schools (Connecticut)
Departures:
- Jeffrey Booker, leaving Gaston County Schools (North Carolina) at end of the school year
- Denicia Hohenberger, retiring from Cooper ISD (Texas) in fall 2023
- David Jeck, is stepping aside at Fauquier County Schools (Virginia) to become the district’s special projects coordinator
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