By Amber Cox
FLORENCE The school district has a new superintendent after a unanimous vote by the board Monday night.
The board approved Donna Ambrosius for a $125,500 contract for the first two years and $127,822 for the 2013-14 contract year. Her three-year contract begins July 1.
Superintendent Louis Talarico is retiring July 1, after serving the district for eight years. His salary is $171,542.
Ms. Ambrosius, of Mantua, was chosen as a result of an internal search.
She has had more than a decade of experience in working with children. She began at Westampton Township School District in 1999 and worked as a Special Services teacher, child study team coordinator, learning disabilities teacher and supervisor of special services.
Ms. Ambrosius currently serves as the district’s director of Special Services.
Board member Richard Buck addressed the public and said he voted “yes” for Ms. Ambrosius because “she is armed with an insider’s knowledge and has a reformist mindset.”
”She exudes a sense of urgency to build upon the successes of Dr. Talarico’s tenure as well as identified some new opportunities . . . to reinforce some of our strengths in the district,” he said. “I have found her to be tenacious, organized, diplomatic, responsive, articulate and realistically ambitious.”
Ms. Ambrosius presented the board with a number of goals for the district during her interview with the school board.
First, she plans to have a bi-annual assessment of second through eighth-grade students to assess their academic achievements throughout the year. This would mean an evaluation at the beginning and end of the year to see where the students have improved.
Second, she plans to have assessments of curriculum and instruction with the administration to see what area are working, what areas aren’t, and where improvements can be made.
Third, she wants to make sure that each school has an effective discipline policy in place to ensure a safe environment for all students.
Finally, she hopes to get more community involvement, especially with parents, in the students’ educational careers.
