The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
BOE names new head of schools
Melony Brady-Shanley to begin duties in July
WINSTED >> Melony Brady-Shanley, now the assistant chief talent officer in the New Britain schools, was announced as the new Winsted superintendent of schools during a special meeting of the Board of Education Thursday.
“We have conducted a search in this town for a new superintendent, and we have found one — a wonderful one,” said Board of Education member Doug Pfenninger. “This is going to be part of a lot of new beginnings in Winchester.”
Brady-Shanley was the standout candidate in` a pool of 11 applicants for the position, according to Receiver Freeman Burr, who praised her intelligence and approachability Tuesday, when discussing the qualities that made her the top choice.
Brady-Shanley, a Hartland resident, said she was attracted by the chance to come to a community she knows well.
“For me, it’s really personal, beyond the personal level, because this is the community that I come home to,” said Brady-Shanley. “It’s a unique opportunity to be able to really cultivate a school district and be able to really raise the level of achievement where we can celebrate the school system. There’s been great groundwork that’s been laid here, so it’s our job to raise it up now going forward.”
This will be the first time Brady-Shanley has served as a schools superintendent.
In New Britain, she said, she now oversees 17 principals in her school district, and works with them to improve their capacity as leaders.
As she considered the difficulties faced in the recent past in the Winsted schools, Brady-Shanley said she hoped residents and parents would relax and know that developments will come at an appropriate pace.
“I want them to take a deep breath, and I want them to understand that we’re going to take change at the pace that we can make change, and understand that they’re going to be brought to the table to help with that change,” said Brady-Shanley.
Brady-Shanley previously served in the Hartford Public Schools, according to a press release, where she was the dean of a magnet school, principal of a K-8 STEM school, and the head of a high school academy.
As Brady-Shanley talked with those in attendance, Burr discussed some of the steps the district will likely encounter in the near future.
Burr said that he expected the district to exit receivership on Aug. 1, which would mark the end of the two-year period laid out in the legislation that put town schools under state control.
Brady-Shanley is also scheduled to begin work on July 1, according to Burr.
Burr said that he expects to have some role in the district as the new school year begins, but the particulars of that arrangement have not yet been determined.
Also, Burr said that he hoped a new contract with The Gilbert School will be reached next week, after the Memorial Day holiday.
The duties of the superintendent of schools have been in the hands of the state since Aug. 1, 2015. The first state-appointed receiver was Robert Travaglini, then Burr took over this year.
A search for a new superintendent, as the state began to relinquish control of the town schools, took place throughout the year. Burr first discussed plans to begin the search in January.
The last full-time superintendent for the town schools was Anne Watson, who struck a $149,000 per year agreement to take on the position in August 2014,
She was placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 18, 2015, by Travaglini.
Watson later resigned from the position as part of an agreement with the Connecticut Department of Education in January.
While the district was under state control, Hinsdale Elementary School was closed, and contractual negotiations with Gilbert, the town’s traditional semi-private high school, have continued.