AMHERST — Fort River School’s assistant principal will remain in his position at the building that houses the Caminantes dual language program, after parents and educators objected to Julio Fernandez being assigned as one of two interim assistant principals at the Amherst Regional Middle School.
In an email sent to families and staff on Monday, Douglas Slaughter, the temporary superintendent, announced that Fernandez would stay at the elementary school led by Tamera Sullivan-Daley.
“As we prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, I have had the opportunity to speak with a number of parents/guardians, students, staff members and members of both the school-based and central office administrative team about the 7-12 interim leadership structure planned for next year,” Slaughter wrote.
“In particular, there was very strong feedback regarding the essential nature of Julio Fernandez’s role as assistant principal at Fort River, particularly in support of the Caminantes program.”
As part of this change, Slaughter is assigning Doreen Reid, a longtime special education teacher, to serve in a temporary assistant principal role at the middle school, joining Richard Ferro, who had been previously announced as one of the interim assistant principals. Reid previously served two years as interim assistant principal.
Talib Sadiq, who has been the high school principal since summer 2020, will also serve as the middle school principal for the next school year.
The leadership plan was prompted by a failed search to find a successor to Diego Sharon, who announced that he would be departing as middle school principal on July 1.
The original plan for the middle school, where students in grades 7 and 8 from Leverett, Shutesbury, Pelham and Amherst are educated, was enacted by Superintendent Michael Morris before he went on medical leave in May. But Slaughter noted that Morris had been considering making adjustments to this before his departure.
Both parents and educators provided written and oral comment to the Amherst School Committee opposing the reassignment of Fernandez, and families had a meeting with Slaughter on June 20 to express their concerns about losing a voice for equity and social justice at Fort River. Following the meeting, those families sent another letter asking Slaughter “to seriously reconsider the appointment of Mr. Fernandez, consult with the ARMS and ARHS educators to find a suitable leadership alternative, and allocate the necessary resources to Fort River Elementary in terms of staffing and infrastructure.”
Other changes announced include Chris Kusek, a special education teacher and administrator, joining Samantha Camera and Miki Gromacki as assistant principals at the high school, and Alicia Lopez, a current English language learners teacher at the the middle school, becoming assistant principal at Crocker Farm School, where Derek Shea is principal. Jennifer Smith, Crocker Farm’s assistant principal. remains on leave.
“We are looking forward to working together as a community to continue to provide a meaningful educational experience for all of our students,” Slaughter wrote.