NEWTON

Superintendent, from A1

“We’ve gone from 35 staff of color … to 68 within a year,” she said. “We really made a pointed effort to recruit differently, to train our hiring committees on anti-bias hiring strategies.

Ultimately, Nolin said she is up for the challenge of taking on the job of NPS’ superintendent.

“I’ve come to know a lot of the teachers and the resources,” she said. “I would be excited to be the next person to hear the stories, hear the values, hear the politics, to understand what your financial needs are, and to try to make this district the next best version of itself.”

The process of finding another NPS superintendent began last April, when former NPS superintendent David Fleishman announced that he would step down from his position at the end of the

2021–22 school year.

After serving as the NPS superintendent for 12 years, Fleishman became the president and chief executive officer of Jewish Vocational Service Boston, a non-profit that provides services in career development and adult education in New England.

In June 2022, shortly after Fleishman officially resigned, the school committee voted to approve Kathleen Smith, former superintendent of Brockton Public Schools, as interim superintendent of NPS, according to a memo from the NPS’ interim superintendent search team.

The school committee formed a search committee in October 2022 to seek out candidates for the superintendent position, which included a group of volunteers ranging from NPS administrators, educators, families, students, and members of the wider Newton community. The school committee, the group of volunteers, and the consulting firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates spent the last few months compiling candidates.

“I wanna thank everyone who has—from our faculty and our staff, just looking around this room—you’ve all touched various points of this process,” Tamika Olszewski, chair of the school committee and Ward 4 school committee representative, said. “You’ve all been deeply assisting this school committee to make this decision we just made, and we appreciate you.” n