To the Holliston Public Schools Family and the Holliston Community at large:

It is bittersweet that we officially announce the upcoming departure of Dr. Brad Jackson, Superintendent of Schools.  Dr. Jackson will be leaving Holliston on June 30th to join the Shawsheen Valley Vocational Technical School District as their new Superintendent Director.

Dr. Jackson, who prefers to be called Brad by the SC, has served as Superintendent of Schools since 2004.  He is currently the second- longest serving Superintendent, serving a single school district, in Massachusetts.  

In his 16 years as Superintendent of Schools, he has:

• Focused his initial efforts on building a culture of collaboration between and among teachers and administrators, introducing the model of Professional Learning Communities as the vehicle for implementation.  The collaborative culture that permeates all of our schools today continues to serve as the foundation for all of the changes we’ve seen in our schools during these past 16 years.
• Led the transformation of our district from a place where technology was used sparingly to a district where technology serves as an integral instructional tool for all teachers.  Along the way, he made HHS one of the first BYOD schools in Massachusetts, while today we are a 1:1 district in grades 6-12 and 1:2 district in grades K-5.  
• Captured the community pride (built on Holliston’s history as an innovative school district), through the district theme of Holliston Innovates and, after removing the handcuffs of MCAS holding back our teachers’ desire to introduce more creative and innovative teaching methods into their classroom, re-established Holliston Public Schools as a district recognized across the state as one that embraces and encourages innovation in its classrooms.
• Presented budgets to School Committee with the intent of improving upon education models by further supporting with staff, technology, and curriculum materials and needed professional development.  He’s served as a strong advocate for our students and the resources our teachers and schools need to serve those students.
• Selected talented educational leaders to lead our schools and serve in key central office positions. (One of these leaders is now a Superintendent in another district.) This, he told me, was one of his proudest accomplishments.
• Attended countless activities, performances, and athletic events to cheer on and support our 2,900+ students.
• Completed his 2019-20 term as President of Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) and was named MA Superintendent of the Year for 2020.
• Did all of this while enduring a torturous 75-minute (one-way) commute on 128 every day for the past 16 years.

We are grateful for his dedication and service and wish him the very best at Shawsheen and beyond.

Moving forward, the School Committee will be hiring an interim Superintendent for one year.  We will open a search for a permanent Superintendent (using a Search Committee that will include a team of community members and school employees) during the SY2020-2021 with the goal of having a new permanent Superintendent on-board by July 1, 2021.

Please join me in thanking and congratulating Brad for 16 great years.

Best,

Stacey Raffi, Chair, Holliston School Committee