LEWISTON — The three finalists for superintendent of Lewiston Public Schools will each spend a day next week touring schools, meeting students, teachers and the public.
They are Christiana Otuwa, Todd Finn and Tracy Racicot, who were among six candidates interviewed to take Bill Webster’s position in July.
School Committee Chairman Mark Cayer said the committee thought the three “could fit in well with Lewiston Public Schools.”
The committee’s decision is expected Feb. 11, he said.
A report from b.w.p. & associates of Libertyville, Illinois, the firm hired to do the nationwide search, shared each candidate’s background:
• Todd Finn is principal of Mill River Union High School in Vermont. He has also worked in Georgia and North Carolina, and has been a middle and high school teacher, assistant principal and principal. He has helped high schools of up to 3,000 students who come from diverse backgrounds and high rates of poverty.
Finn has experience increasing academic performance, decreasing dropout rates and undesired student behavior, and boosting daily school attendance in Georgia and North Carolina. He’s been featured in several articles about his leadership in personalized learning, supporting homeless youth and improving education.
On a personal note, Finn is originally from New England and comes to Lewiston to visit his brother’s grave at Hope Memorial Cemetery .
• Tracy Racicot is principal of the Burlington High School and Technology Center in Burlington, Vermont. She also has worked as principal of Questar III, a career and technical alternative site.
She has 20 years in education in a variety of settings, and appreciates the importance of a well-rounded curriculum and support for teachers. She has a particular interest in refugee students from socially and economically diverse backgrounds, and was sensitive to the needs of diverse students when Burlington redistricted students to support diversity efforts.
On a personal note, she loves the outdoors, camping, the arts and her grandchildren.
• Christiana Otuwa is assistant superintendent for instructional leadership in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She has more than 25 years in education, working as a teacher and administrator in Atlanta, Pittsburg and Rochester, New York.
Otuwa supervised 14 schools, conducting walk-throughs in each building to provide feedback to administrators and staff. In Rochester, she and her staff developed a student code of conduct to provide safety and build good citizenship skills, providing tools for teachers to be successful.
English is Otuwa’s second language. She’s described as empathetic and attuned to culturally diverse student population and communities. She is familiar with school budgets, grant writing and forming partnerships with local businesses and leaders.
On a personal note, Otuwa loves to exercise, watch television and read.
Each of the finalists will spend a day and an evening in Lewiston, beginning with Finn on Monday, Racicot on Tuesday and Otuwa on Wednesday.
Their morning schedule includes touring Lewiston Middle School, Geiger Elementary School, Lewiston High School, the Lewiston Regional Technical Center and The Green Ladle culinary program, followed by a focus group with high school students.
After lunch they’ll participate in a tour and focus groups at the Dingley Building, the administrative headquarters.
A community meeting is set from 6 to 6:45 p.m. at the Lewiston High School multi-purpose room.
Bobbi Avery, chief administration officer for the School Department, said community meetings are a good way for residents “to come together, listen to what the candidates have to say with a brief question and answer period at the end.”
bwashuk@sunjournal.com
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