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Norwalk School Board Selects New Superintendent To Lead District

NORWALK, Conn. -- The Norwalk Board of Education has selected Steven J. Adamowski as its new Superintendent of Schools, it announced in a press release Friday. 

The Norwalk Board of Education will vote Tuesday on the selection of Steven J. Adamowski as the new Superintendent of Schools.

The Norwalk Board of Education will vote Tuesday on the selection of Steven J. Adamowski as the new Superintendent of Schools.

Photo Credit: Norwalk Board of Education

The selection is subject to the approval of the school board at its meeting on June 16. Adamowski is slated to begin his term as superintendent on July 15.

He is the former superintendent of the Cincinnati schools, with 38,000 students, and the Hartford Public Schools with 24,000 students. He was named Special Master for the State of Connecticut Department of Education in 2011, providing state supervision and support to challenged school districts. 

“Dr. Adamowski brings the exact set of skills – proven leadership in the implementation of major reforms – that we were looking for," Board of Education Chairman Mike Lyons said. "We have a strong Strategic Plan, and now we have a strong implementer with a proven track record of making reform plans work. We are very excited that Dr. Adamowski has agreed to join us in Norwalk to keep the Norwalk schools’ long-term reform plan moving forward.”

He will take over from James A. Connelly, who has served as the interim superintendent of schools since Superintendent Manuel Rivera left at the end of January to take the top job in the New London School District.

Adamowski holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Southern Connecticut State University, a master’s degree in education from Trinity College and a specialist degree in administration, planning and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his doctorate in educational administration from Saint Louis University in Missouri.

The statement from the Norwalk Board of Education said Adamowski has committed to staying in Norwalk for the long term, and to fully support the Strategic Plan adopted by the board. 

"We believe that he will bring to his superintendency all the talents and values that the board looked for in the lengthy search we conducted," the statement said.

During his time in Hartford, the performance of students on Connecticut State Assessments, once the lowest in Connecticut, rose by record levels, surpassing statewide gains for four consecutive years and substantially closing the achievement gap of Hartford students.

Key to that success was an overhaul of the district into a system of high-performing schools of choice through the redesign and turnaround of low-performing schools and the creation of new schools. 

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