Mouth of the River

Superintendent Search 

Oyster River’s new superintendent will be announced next Wednesday, 12/20. Many people are unaware of what a superintendent is. The screening is thorough for a reason. A superintendent is often held accountable for the successes and failures of the district. Specifically, the superintendent is the head honcho working with school administrators, dealing with the budget, ensuring and communicating policy, and identifying areas of improvement within a district. If you haven’t been keeping up with the Superintendent Search as much as the Kardashians, let me clue you in. The initial search began in September with a screening committee made up of school board members, administrators, parents, teachers, community members, support staff, and a student. The interviews with selected candidates took place in November. The candidates are initially filtered through NESDEC (New England School Development Council), and the selected candidates that meet the criteria are passed to the committee. The committee reviewed the applications and reconvened to discuss top choices. The top choices received an interview.  

Suzanne Filippone 

Suzanne Filippone is Oyster River’s current assistant superintendent. Filippone, former ORHS principal, has been a part of ORCSD for a long time. Having grown up in Lee, NH, Filippone, like many school administrators, started out as a teacher. Her first job was at Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine working at both the high school and middle school levels. But her journey to teaching wasn’t typical. Filippone never knew she wanted to pursue education; in fact, she wanted to be a lobbyist. She interned at a lobbying firm while in college, quickly realized it wasn’t for her, and transitioned into her now 27-year-long career in education. “I wanted to do something that had an impact and made a difference,” she said. As a first-generation American, Filippone says she understands how important education is. If Filippone were offered the position of superintendent, her plans are to continue and build upon much of the work she is already doing. “I’d like to continue to look at universal design for learning, [which includes] more personalized learning for kids as well as inquiry-based learning.” Filippone is looking to continue growing the ELO program she began eight years ago and provide equitable learning opportunities for every student.  

Russell Holden 

Russell Holden is the current Sunapee, NH superintendent. His career in education began as a physical education teacher, where he worked with students with psychosocial behavioral disorders. Holden said he went into education because, “I enjoy being and working around young people and sharing those experiences with them.” Although he started out in physical education, he has also worked as an athletic director, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent in a variety of districts. Holden has worked as the Sunapee superintendent since 2013. Compared to ORCSD’s 2135 students, The Sunapee school district only has about 430 students. This smaller size allowed Holden to make connections. But Holden says he’s interested in Oyster River because with a greater size, there are more opportunities. His vision for Oyster River would be to help every student achieve what he calls the “optimal level of success.” Following that, Holden says, “I want to ensure that the school district I’m in is allowing students to have the skills necessary to be successful in whatever path they determine to take after high school. Making sure that the students have those different pathways is incredibly important.”  

Robert Shaps 

Dr. Robert Shaps is a retired superintendent from Mamaroneck, NY. Shaps has 20 years of superintendent experience and 13 at Mamaroneck School District. He said he was inspired to pursue education by his AP U.S. History teacher, Mr. Bromchild. Always having been interested in teaching, after college, he began coaching lacrosse at Lehigh University, and simultaneously taking graduate courses in education. Eventually, Shaps received a master’s in teaching from Harvard University. Before moving to New York, Shaps taught at Londonderry High School, and later became the school’s assistant principal. The philosophy he would bring to Oyster River revolves first around “learning about the school district and community as well as the values, then adjusting and bringing a new perspective about what is the next iteration.” His vision for the district is also, “creating opportunities for kids to apply their knowledge, learning, and dispositions in a more authentic way. I’m interested in extending the programs that exist to allow different experiences for students.”  Shaps sees the role of a superintendent as someone who is always looking for improvement. He says, “to continue to move educators forward, it will impact how students learn.” 

–Maeve Hickok 

*Article was edited on 12/15 from original on 12/13