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Superintendent Search

Monday, April 23, 2012

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Clark, Brodeur Welcome New Superintendent

The city's state delegation welcomes incoming Melrose School Superintendent Cyndy Taymore and thanks retiring Superintendent Joe Casey.

To the Editor: On April 12, we were pleased to join Mayor Rob Dolan, Superintendent Joe Casey, the Melrose School Committee and members of the community at the contract signing ceremony for incoming Superintendent Cyndy Taymore.  With the selection of Ms. Taymore to lead the Melrose Public Schools, the City begins another exciting chapter in our collective effort to build an excellent, innovative school system that supports and challenges all students. We welcome Ms. Taymore to Melrose, and we look forward to working with her, Mayor Dolan and the community to support our schools and address the challenges we face. We thank the members of the superintendent search committee and the School Committee for their many hours of work and their …

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Melrose Schools Transition With New Superintendent

School Committee Chairwoman Kristin Thorp reflects on where the school district has been and is going with the hiring of new Superintendent Cyndy Taymore.

Submitted on behalf of the Melrose School Committee by Chairwoman Kristin Thorp. Last week Ms. Cyndy Taymore, the incoming Superintendent of Melrose Public Schools, signed her contract, signifying the end of the Superintendent Search process and the beginning of a new era in Melrose. I would like to take a moment to recognize this transition. The last six years, under the direction of Superintendent Joe Casey, we saw a great deal of change and innovation in our schools. A strong Administrative Team was formed, test results were increased, facilities were updated and all of this was done in the context of a shrinking budget. The district is far ahead of where it was when Joe arrived. We are thankful for the tireless dedication to the …

Friday, April 13, 2012

VIDEO: Incoming Superintendent Taymore Contract Signing

Melrose school and city officials gathered on Thursday morning at Memorial Hall for a contract signing ceremony with incoming Melrose Schools superintendent Cyndy Taymore.

On Thursday morning, Melrose school and city officials gathered in the GAR Room at Memorial Hall for a contract signing ceremony with Cyndy Taymore, the incoming Melrose Schools superintendent. Watch the video above for highlights from the remarks made at the ceremony.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Taymore Contract Approved By School Committee

Incoming Superintendent Cyndy Taymore will have a starting salary of $160,000 according to the three-year contract approved Tuesday night.

Incoming Melrose Schools Superintendent Cyndy Taymore will have a starting salary of $160,000, according to the three-year contract approved Tuesday night by the School Committee. The committee approved the contract by a 6-1 vote, with Carrie Kourkoumelis voting no. Taymore will start on July 1, replacing the retiring Joe Casey. A signing ceremony will be held on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. in the GAR Room at Memorial Hall. Other details of the contract include: 25 paid vacation days; 18 sick days; no tuition reimbursements or travel allowance; and nine months advance written notice of termination. After the vote, committee Chairwoman Kristin Thorp said that Taymore will be working Casey to begin finding her way around the district. "She…

Dave Gray

3:07 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012

Thanks, Dann, for clearing that up. As far as buybacks go, that doesn't trouble me at all, in fact $7500 for 75 sick days is a bargain, and I don't believe you're allowed to carry over vacation days. It sounds like a fair deal to me. Whether she is worth it or not will depend on performance, and that will make itself clear down the road. She's obviously not going to solve all the problems her …   more ›

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Taymore Selected As Next Melrose Superintendent

Pending contract negotiations, Cyndy Taymore will become the next superintendent of Melrose Public Schools after a School Committee vote Thursday night.

Editor's note: This article was updated on Friday at 11:08 a.m. Cyndy Taymore will be the next superintendent of Melrose Public Schools, pending contract negotiations, after a School Committee vote on Thursday night. Taymore is currently the assistant superintendent with Bedford Public Schools, retaining oversight of special education. She holds a bachelor's degree from American University, a master's degree from Emerson, graduate work at Salem State, and certificate for post graduate work at UMass Boston. Out of the five finalists, Taymore was one of three who consistently came up as the School Committee discussed who should become the next leader of the city's schools, along with Dr. James Kelleher and Dr. Kristan Rodriguez. The …

POLL: Your Pick For the Next Superintendent

Who do you think should be the next leader of the Melrose Public School district?

After visits to the candidates' districts and public meetings and interview with each candidate here in Melrose, the Melrose School Committee will meet tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss and vote on the next superintendent of Melrose Public Schools. Melrose Patch live blogged the candidates' public meetings and interviews—here are links to our coverage: The School Committee has solicited feedback on the candidates from the public through emails sent to feedback@melrose.mec.edu. MMTV will rebroadcast the interviews starting at 10 a.m. today—Channel 16 for Comcast and Channel 38 for Verizon. Who is your pick? Vote in our unscientific poll below—please vote only once—and tell us in the comments why that candidate is your pick as the next leader of …

Five Things You Need to Know Today

5 Things You Need To Know Today—Thursday, March 29

Vote on new superintendent tonight; Snack Pack book group at the library.

Get Melrose Patch each morning in your inbox with our daily newsletter! 1) Scattered showers, mainly before 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 48. North wind between 10 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. Tonight, partly cloudy, with a low around 34. Northwest wind around 10 mph. (Forecast by the National Weather Service.) 2) Vote on new superintendent tonight. The School Committee has a special meeting scheduled tonight at 7 p.m. for a discussion and vote on the new Melrose Public Schools superintendent. You can find all our previous coverage and mentions of the search here. 3) Snack Pack Book Group. All book lovers entering the 4th and 5th grade are invited to participate in the library’s monthly Snack Pack book discussion …

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Highlights From Superintendent Finalist Dr. Kristan Rodriguez Live Blog

Melrose Public Schools superintendent finalist Dr. Kristan Rodriguez met with the public and was interviewed by the School Committee on Wednesday.

Melrose Public Schools superintendent finalist Dr. Kristan Rodriguez met with the public and was interviewed by the School Committee on Wednesday. Below are highlights from Melrose Patch's live blog of the meeting. These are lightly edited selections from the live blog, a transcript of which can be read in full here. Questions are in bold and Kelleher's paraphrased responses start with "KR."   Q: It's possible that teachers have gotten the impression they aren't being listened to in the Superintendent search. Could you please enlighten us about your actual conversations with teachers? KR: I absolutely went into classrooms and spoke with many people. We didn't spend as much time touring in some buildings, but some staff came back after the …

Live Blog Transcript: Superintendent Finalist Meeting—Dr. Kristan Rodriguez

Melrose Patch blogged from Wednesday's public meeting and School Committee interview with the Melrose Public Schools superintendent candidate.

Melrose Patch live blogged the public meeting and School Committee interview with Melrose Schools superintendent finalist Dr. Kristan Rodriguez Wednesday night. Dr. Rodriguez is the assistant superintendent of Chelmsford Public Schools. She holds a bachelor's degree from Boston University, a master's degree from Gordon College and a doctorate from Boston College.

Five Things You Need to Know Today

5 Things You Need To Know Today—Wednesday, March 28

Learn to use Patch at the library this morning; final superintendent finalist meeting/interview tonight.

Get Melrose Patch each morning in your inbox with our daily newsletter! 1) A chance of showers, mainly after 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 51. South wind between 7 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent. Tonight, continued chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 42. West wind around 6 mph. (Forecast by the National Weather Service.) 2) Drop-in at our Patch Academy today. Patch will be at the Melrose Public Library upstairs in the Trustees Room from 10 a.m. to noon to show you how to post events and Announcements, claim your business listing, upload photos and video, and everything else you can do on Melrose Patch. If you have a question or just want us to show you how to quickly post on Patch, stop by. We'll work one-on-…

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