Region 15 Assistant Superintendent Negotiating to Become Head of Mansfield Public Schools

The Mansfield Board of Education is negotiating to appoint Kelly Lyman, assistant superintendent of the Regional School District 15, as the new superintendent of the district’s four schools.

The school board expects to appoint Lyman as superintendent at a special board meeting before the end of June, according to an announcement from the district.

The school board hired Trumbull-based Cooperative Educational Services (C.E.S.) to conduct the search for a new superintendent to replace Fred Baruzzi, who resigned from Mansfield in January. After conducting community focus groups and an online survey to gauge the leadership attributes and personal qualities desired for the next Mansfield superintendent, six of the 14 applicants were interviewed by the search committee, the Mansfield Board of Education.

Lyman, the assistant superintendent for Regional School District 15 that serves the towns of Southbury and Middlebury, emerged as the lead candidate for the Mansfield superintendency from a pool of three semi-finalists, according to the announcement.

Lyman, who has been Region 15’s assistant superintendent since 2011, holds the required Connecticut certifications for executive leadership, a master’s degree in school psychology from UCONN and a bachelor’s degree in special education/elementary education from Boston College.

Lyman’s educational career spans more than 30 years with experience in primarily elementary and middle public school positions in Windsor, Farmington and Winsted.

Lyman also has served as a lead professor of practice in the UCONN Educational Leadership program and as an administrator-in-residence for the Connecticut State Department of Education. Additionally, she worked as a director of studies for an alternative education experience conducted by a partnership between UCONN and the Hartford Public Schools. She is also actively involved in several professional organizations.

“Kelly will bring a wealth of educational experience to our district,” Mansfield School Board Chairman Randy Walikonis said in a statement. “She impressed the search committee with her apparent and relevant leadership qualities, the strength of her elementary and middle school background, and her vision for promoting excellence in our schools.”

On Tuesday, June 16, Lyman met with dozens of community stakeholders during a full day of meetings. School board members and C.E.S. Executive Search Services consultant Dr. H. Kaye Griffin took part in the meetings and afterward collected feedback from Mansfield parents, students, administrators, faculty and staff, and town officials who attended the sessions. “The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, leading the school board to begin negotiating terms with Lyman,” the district said in its statement.

Once contract terms are agreed to and Lyman is appointed, she will begin her new post as superintendent in August. Dr. Richard Kisiel, who is serving as the interim superintendent, will continue in the position until Lyman assumes the superintendency.

Contributed photo: Kelly Lyman.