Search narrows down to six
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Six people were interviewed this week to fill the position of principal of Overlook Middle School, said Ashburnham-Westminster Regional Superintendent of Schools Michael Zapantis

The six, whose names were not released before press time incase they dropped out of consideration were interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The candidates are being considered for Principal Brenda Houle's position.

Houle will be leaving the school at the end of the year after taking a job at Mapleshade Elementary School in East Longmeadow.

Houle moved to Overlook in 2006 after serving as assistant principal at Birchland Park Middle School in East Longmeadow.

The screening committee reviewed 12 candidates, who submitted applications. The ninemember committee ranked the member identifying four candidates as top choices for interviews and another four ranked as potential interview. Zapantis said he choose two of those secondary ranked candidates to fill the six interview slots.

The candidates had 15 minutes to review a predetermined list of interview questions. Each candidate was then interviewed by the committee and after the interview they were asked to answer two questions in written form.

"We want to make sure they have the ability to communicate in the written form," Zapantis said.

The committee, or members of the committee, will visit the finalists school districts and invite the finalists to visit Overlook and the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District.

Zapantis said if the committee was not able to recommend two or three candidates that they were comfortable recommending or that he thought was a good fit with the school district then he would is not opposed to hiring an interim principal. He said if that was his decision than the interim principal would serve for the full year so as not to disrupt the school and to not rush the review process.