Changing of the guard at 'Gansett

Changing of the guard at 'Gansett

+ click to enlarge News staff photo by Christine Smith Incoming Superintendent Christopher Casa­vant, left, and outgoing interim Superintendent Stephen Hemman stand by the Narragansett Regional High School playing fields. + click to enlarge News staff photo by Christine Smith New Narragansett Regional School District Superintendent Christopher D. Casavant in the district’s administrative office. Christine Smith TEMPLETON  They chided each other as good friends often might. The familiarity was there, but will serve as a prelude and preparation for the transition that is fast approaching. One will be leaving the Narragansett Regional School District superintendent’s desk for the last time on June 30, and the other will be officially taking his seat in the spot the next day. Interim Superintendent Stephen Hemman, who had retired some years ago, came back last year to guide the district that he had led from 2000-2008 through this latest year of transition. It was the trust among those at Narragansett — and his previous internal knowledge of the district — that he said prompted the invitation to come back to help with finalizing plans for a new $47 million elementary school and hiring a new, permanent superintendent to replace Ruth Miller, who resigned in early 2015. As Hemman quietly hands the keys over and returns to retirement, former Gardner Public Schools Business Manager Christopher D. Casavant will begin the job of guiding the district forward into the new school year. “As I phase out, he phases in,” said Hemman. Hemman said he will miss the students he loved to see at music or sporting events, special banquets or while he walked the halls of the district’s buildings. He said he and Casavant have been working together on decision-making as they have neared his final days on the job. Hemman said he is pleased with the thought that he is leaving a district where teachers care and are happy coming to work and the students feel safe and welcome. Meanwhile Casavant said he is looking forward to the job. Why Narragansett and why the jump from the financial office to the head position? According to Casavant, the opportunity presented itself and the move was part of his life plan. “It’s that simple,” he said. Casavant said it was a move he had been preparing for all along, since his job as business manager in Gardner was in fact a way for him to better understand the administrative position he now will hold. He had acted on advice he received while studying for his doctorate in educational leadership at Boston College to become familiar and experienced with all aspects of how a district operates, including its financial details. He said he had educational experience as special education teacher and residential supervisor at the Stetson School in Barre, as well as building management through his position as principal of Gardner Middle School. With business administration came an understanding of how budgets worked in conjunction with state aid, changing state regulations, and other facets of a district’s management of its money. Casavant has been visiting Narragansett on a regular basis since he was given the job earlier this year, and he says that he will be able to hit the ground running when he starts on July 1. He has been collecting information since he was given the go-ahead in January, attending a few small school events and meeting with faculty and other groups in the school system. He has been able to figure out his agenda to move Narragansett forward by amassing and piecing together information along the way. He knows that much of his new job will entail meeting with parents and local community leaders, and he hopes many who would like to discuss issues will contact his office for one-on-one meetings or seek out some community forums that he has in the works. “Being visible is the key — not just visible, but invested,” said Casavant. He said he wants to meet with the students, so they can get to know their new superintendent. “Honestly, this is the thing I can’t wait to do,” he remarked, adding with a laugh, “even if I may be a fleeting thought by lunchtime. It will at least make me feel good.” Casavant pointed to the students as the reason he and all educators in the district are here. He does not plan to change things in a strict sense, but he will bring his own stylistic technique and approach influenced by the positions he has held in the past. Of all the candidates who applied for the post, said Casavant, “what they looked for in a superintendent was me. Hopefully that ‘me’ is good enough.” It would not work to try to be another Stephen Hemman, he said, since their personalities are quite different. However, he said he will borrow every great thing Hemman has done for the schools and blend them with his own ideas, and with continuing input from staff and leaders and parents from the surrounding community. He said his vision will be a “shared vision” of the district community as a whole. Casavant said his personal long-term goal is to improve the schools and bring the district’s rating up from its current Level 3 status. He wants to see the district fiscally balanced where every dollar is spent wisely, but is pushed toward academic excellence with good classroom teachers who have access to continued professional training. He said Narragansett has to find the balance between meeting its budget and its academic goals. “In three years I want to look back and say we’ve made this place better,” he commented. He said he wants the facilities to see continued improvement, and the kids and teachers “to feel great, supported and heard.”