CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The North Berkshire School Union will be looking for a replacement for Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Lev.
Lev, who has led the five-town school union for a decade, recently announced his retirement after 10 years with the district.
He said last week that it was time to retire, noting he was now 67.
The school union committee will meet on April 12 with Patricia Correira, a field director for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
"She will present the process for the superintendent's search and go from there," he told the Clarksburg School Committee last week. "I've agreed to stay on until they find a replacement. ...
"Obviously, I went through this 10 years ago and it's the same person, Patricia Correira, who is in charge of the search when I was hired. It seems like yesterday."
Lev's degrees from Syracuse (N.Y.) University were in social work but he'd also been a special education teacher before becoming an administrator. The North Adams native was director of special education for the school union when he was tapped as interim superintendent when John D. Barry left after nine years to lead the Southwick-Tolland Regional School District in 2008. He was hired for the post later that year after a search process. (Coincidentally, Correira also helped the school union during the hiring process that selected Barry.)
Lev said MASC will help the school union develop criteria for the post and in advertising, such as in Education Weekly, which goes out across the country. MASC can also help with initial screenings and recommendations for finalists.
"I believe there are approximately 50 superintendent searches in Massachusetts this year," he said. "I've gotten many, many emails and pamphlets sent to me about different openings."
In addition to North Berkshire, the Mount Greylock and Adams-Cheshire regional school districts are both seeking superintendents and another eight are currently listed on the MASC site. Several posts were filled in late 2017, early 2018. Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, told WBUR last year that turnover in the state's 275 superintendent posts averages 55 to 65 annually.
Lev said he would have stayed to see the completion of the Clarksburg School renovation project, but that proposal was shot down by voters last fall.
In his letter to the school community announcing his retirement, Lev said it was his experiences with the students that motivated him, although being superintendent had made those contacts "more distant and sporadic." He expressed his gratitude to all the staff members from janitors to teachers to administrators he had worked with.
"Working these past 10 years as the superintendent of the North Berkshire School Union, I have learned new skills and sharpened tools I hadn't used before," he wrote. "I have pushed myself to see different perspectives and problem solve in new ways. ...
"I promise to continue my commitment to education through my roles as a grandfather and community member, supporting your hard work in any way I can."
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Teacher of the Month: Cindy Chevett
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Cindy Chevett has been with Head Start her entire career. She says teaching is challenging but also very rewarding.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Head Start preschool teacher Cindy Chevett has been selected as the August Teacher of the Month.
The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next nine months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here.
To Chevett, the best part of being a teacher is seeing her students achieve even just the little things, such as writing the letter E or their name.
"It is the best job ever," she says with a smile and tears in her eyes as she says, "I love seeing them achieve."
She said although teaching can be challenging, the classroom environment is very fun and the job is very rewarding.
"There's children that come in and can't really speak so that you can understand them, and modeling, and when they leave the classroom, you can understand them. That was one of my best achievements with the child," Chevett said.
In Chevett's classroom, the students take control of their learning, instilling in them a love of learning.
The game-winning rally started when Pittsfield junior Jack Abel led off by crushing a 1-1 pitch to left-center and racing all the way to third base, sliding in just ahead of the tag to give the Generals a sterling scoring opportunity. click for more
The Pittsfield baseball team Saturday rallied for five runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 5-5 tie and went on to a 12-5 win over Clinton in the quarter-finals of the Division 4 State Tournament. click for more
Amanda Pou was named the most valuable player of the regional final after striking out four and walking none in a complete-game effort in the circle. She also ripped a two-run double in Pittsfield’s four-run fourth-inning rally to break open a scoreless game. click for more