MONTAGUE — The Gill-Montague Regional School District is preparing for the start of the school year with new hires, while interim Superintendent Tari Thomas begins her entry plan.

The Gill-Montague School Committee met Tuesday to discuss progress on hiring staff for various administrative and classroom positions, including finding a replacement for Shawn Rickan, who is resigning from his role as the middle school and high school principal, effective Aug. 1.

“It has been a privilege to serve the students, staff and community, and I am grateful for the opportunities I have had during my tenure,” Rickan’s resignation letter states. “I am proud of what we have accomplished together and wish the school continued success in the future.”

When asked for a reason for his resignation, Rickan wrote in an email that a new opportunity arose and he’ll be starting as the Sutton Middle School principal.

Before coming to Gill-Montague in August 2024, Rickan was the assistant principal and athletic director at Ralph C. Mahar Regional School in Orange from 2000 to 2005. He was then hired as principal at Narragansett Regional High School in Baldwinsville until 2015, when he became Franklin County Technical School’s principal before leaving for Paxton Center School.

Rickan is an Athol High School graduate who holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education, sports medicine and athletic training, as well as a master’s degree in educational leadership and management.

“Shawn has done some great work since he arrived,” Thomas told the School Committee.

Thomas said the job posting to fill the middle school and high school principal position was sent out internally, and next steps for hiring will be provided to the School Committee at a later date.

In June, the School Committee approved plans for an administrative restructuring at the middle school, high school and central office. In this structure, approved by the committee, a principal would have dedicated time for both schools, and there would be two assistant principals, with one focused on the middle school and one focused on the high school. This is replacing the previous structure of having one principal, one assistant principal and one dean of students.

Thomas provided an update Tuesday on the status of hiring for 16 open positions, explaining that two of four administrative positions are filled, three of eight instructional staff positions are filled and one of four support staff positions is filled.

Entry plan

Thomas has already worked for three weeks with the school district, starting on July 1 as interim. Former Superintendent Brian Beck resigned from his position in May, and his last day with the district was June 30.

Although Thomas will only be spending a year with Gill-Montague until a new, full-time superintendent is hired, she has still completed an entry plan that was shared with the committee on Tuesday.

Thomas has a three-stage plan: Listening, Learning and Gathering Information; Identifying Patterns and Sharing Findings; and Using Insights to Guide Planning and Support Leadership Transition.

As Thomas’ first step, she hopes to hold group and individual stakeholder discussions, district data reviews and classroom visits. She plans to engage a variety of stakeholders in the school and the community regarding the strengths of the district, where improvements can be made and what people expect from her as the interim.

She stated the review of district policies, procedures and collective bargaining agreements, among other points, will “help identify trends and reinforce insights gathered through stakeholder engagement.”

Her second step is expected to start in the early fall when data collection is completed. Thomas will analyze the information and present findings to the School Committee and community. The final step will then create “clear, actionable priorities” for short-term goals, which can also help the new superintendent when that person is hired.

School Committee member Steve Ellis said during the meeting that he feels the plan is “thoughtful and formulaic,” mentioning he was able to help Thomas in her development of the goals.

“I thought on top of that, it’s planned to collect data from most of the critical stakeholders that one could reasonably engage,” Ellis said, “and I thought that the timeline was aggressive and appropriate in these conditions.”

After a brief discussion on the entry plan, the School Committee voted unanimously to accept it.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.