Bourne Appoints New Director Of Special Education And Student Services
The Bourne School Committee has approved the hiring of Kristin Donahue as the district’s new director of Special Education and Student Services, a position she will be fully integrated into by the start of the 2022-23 school year.
Ms. Donahue is replacing Ryan Place, who will be leaving for another district after spending just under two years with the Bourne Public Schools.
Superintendent Kerri Anne Quinlan-Zhou presented Ms. Donahue as a recommendation from the screening committee, saying that she worked with Ms. Donahue previously in the Dighton-Rehoboth school district.
“She is known to me [as] someone who did an exceptional job there, and I emphatically put her in front of you for your review to see if she is the right fit,” Dr. Zhou said.
For the benefit of the committee, Ms. Donahue gave a brief overview of her career. She was initially a speech pathologist, first working in a hospital and then in a small public school district, which she said gave her a districtwide perspective from a therapeutic point of view.
She was later encouraged to become the district coordinator there while simultaneously earning a certificate of advanced graduate study, or CAGS, in educational leadership from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Throughout her career, Ms. Donahue has held positions as a department head at Falmouth High School, special education supervisor and, later, director of special education with Fall River Public Schools, and director of special education at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District, where she currently works.
When asked “Why Bourne?” Ms. Donahue said she is pleased by the district’s move toward building a more inclusive environment, something she hopes to expand upon.
“Certainly, to Dr. Zhou’s point, we have worked together in the past, and I think we’ve had a similar mindset and had similar visions on where to move students, especially within special education,” Ms. Donahue said. “From what I see, Bourne is moving toward definitely a much more inclusive environment. We know that when working for students in the inclusion setting, whether it be through co-teaching or additional support or a modified curriculum [or] however, the outcomes for students are the best when we can provide support in that setting. So the opportunity to continue to grow, that is very exciting to me.”
Ms. Donahue also said that she is familiar with both the teachings of Deborah Harris, who has been working closely with BPS to help further develop its vision of inclusivity, and with SEPAC, the special education parents advisory council that is required in all Massachusetts school districts under state law. While working in Dighton-Rehoboth, Ms. Donahue said that Dr. Harris’s guidebook and practices were used as guideposts to move the district forward. In regard to SEPAC, Ms. Donahue said that Dighton-Rehoboth recently regrouped to form a regional SEPAC with surrounding communities, something she said she would be willing to explore for Bourne if needed, as many SEPAC groups are still struggling in the wake of the pandemic.
The biggest problem facing families right now, she said, is reacclimating students to being in school and helping them relearn what is expected of them at school.
“Schools are struggling with that as well,” she said. “The social-emotional component is huge right now. We’re working really hard and, hopefully, collaboratively with families to provide support, so that students can close whatever loss happened through COVID.”
Ms. Donahue’s hiring recommendation was approved unanimously by the committee. Dr. Zhou said that, pending successful negotiations, Ms. Donahue is expected to be fully on board with Bourne at the beginning of August. By then, Dr. Place will have fully transitioned out of the role.
Committee chairwoman Emily Berry said at the end of the meeting, “I just want to say thank you to Dr. Place, who has done a tremendous job in Bourne, especially with everything he did during COVID. Thank you very much for all of your hard work.”