HUDSON — Incoming Hudson Public Schools Superintendent Brian Reagan laid out his entry plan for the upcoming school year at the July 25 Hudson School Committee meeting.
The plan will cover the next six months. The goal of the plan is to do a deep dive into the operations of the school district, he said.
One way to accomplish this goal will be to engage with the constituents in the school community.
“Really, the overarching idea here is to talk about strengths of the district,” Reagan said.
He believed the district should “be celebrating the challenges that are directly in front of us.” It is critical, he noted, to look at what has changed and progressed since he last worked in the district as Hudson High School principal from 2011 to 2018.
“I need to come into this with a new set of eyes,” he said. “So that’s how I’m approaching this.”
Reagan said that the plan has three phases, with the first already completed prior to his official start date back in June. He met with the district’s central leadership team, the principal for each school, outgoing superintendent Marco Rodrigues, and the School Committee in an effort to communicate his plan for transitioning into the superintendent role.
Reagan said he was able to use some of his time off to visit the schools during the school year and voiced his appreciation for Rodrigues’ support.
“I want to just pause here and just mention my appreciation to Dr. Rodrigues for spending a significant amount of time with me: both face-to-face, on the phone,” he said.
He noted there will be a focus on protecting traditions and systems important to community members.
The second phase will include one-on-one transition meetings with district leaders, like principals and assistant principals, and community leaders, like the fire and police chiefs and the Hudson Public Library director. There will also be staff and community meet-and-greets during the second phase, including a meeting on the morning of Aug. 9 for families.
He said, “I’m going to be meeting with folks over at Town Hall.”
There will also be a survey conducted to gather additional feedback.
“Phase three I’m really excited about because schools will be open, and we’ll have teachers and students in classrooms again,” Reagan said.
In addition, he will be doing one-week residencies in each school in Hudson Public Schools starting the second full week of the school year. He will be “fully immersed” at each school and work out of the building instead of the district central office on Apsley Street.
“The idea is for me to move all of my functions of operations to that school,” he said.
Reagan said the goal is to engage fully in the classrooms at each school and have office hours as well.
He noted, “I’m really looking forward to those [residencies].”
School Committee Chair Steven Smith said of Reagan’s preparation, “I appreciate all the time you put in.”
School Committee member Steven Sharek added that the entry plan was “very comprehensive and well thought out.”
Sharek also said that Reagan could also contact the Hudson Downtown Business Improvement District group and state Rep. Kate Hogan (D-Stow) and Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough) as part of the plan.
The second phase has begun and will likely go into September, and the third phase will overlap with the second one and be complete in January, according to Reagan.
“So the hope is that at the start of the calendar year, I would have a report of entry findings for the School Committee and the community,” Reagan said.
The report will also help shape goals for the district going forward.
