Board selects new schools chief
NEW MILFORD — A new superintendent will soon take over the helm of New Milford’s school district.
The school board gave its chairman and attorney the approval on Tuesday to start negotiations with Kerry Parker, now a superintendent in New Mexico, for the post. She’s expected to be formally approved next month.
“It is an honor to have been selected to serve as superintendent of New Milford Public Schools,” Parker said in a statement. “I look forward to meeting everyone and becoming an active member of the community as we partner to ensure our students acquire the necessary skills to be successful in the 21st century.”
She will replace Stephen Tracy, who has served as the interim superintendent since August.
Parker was selected from a national pool of 26 applicants.
The school board relied on the feedback gathered in the leadership profile report for the district, which was developed through focus group input and online survey research earlier this year in conjunction with consultants from the executive search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, according to a news release.
Parker has more than 35 years of experience in public education, including serving the past 21 years as an administrator.
She started her career in Texas and New Mexico as an English and theater teacher, which she continued in Colorado before becoming an administrator.
Parker moved to Connecticut in
2005 where she was an assistant principal at Ella T. Grasso Technical High School in Groton, then as principal at Grasso Technical and Vinal Technical High School until 2011.
During that time, Parker was named a Connecticut State Board of Education Administrator of the Year for the Technical High School System and she received a Connecticut State Board of Education Achievement Award.
She moved back to New Mexico in
2011, where she was named assistant superintendent of human resources for the Clovis Municipal School District.
Parker has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in communication and theatre and earned a Masters of Arts in education and a doctorate in educational leadership.