Farmer: Global Competency Program Would Be His Stamp

said Wednesday night that if hired as superintendent next summer, he'd push for global awareness and global competency programs in each school.

Farmer spent two hours outlining his plans as superintendent in front of a screening committee and several dozen parents and school staff at the .

School committee Chairman Glenn Allen said the screening board will present its recommendation to the school board on Dec. 8.  If the screening committee recommends hiring Farmer, the school committee will vote on Dec. 15 to begin contract negotiations.

plans to retire during the summer of 2012, ending five years as school chief. However, she has agreed to retire next summer instead if Farmer becomes superintendent. Otherwise, the school committee will do a broader search next fall, Allen said. But Dunham has urged the board to hire Farmer, handing out his resume at a recent meeting.

Farmer's three-year contract here expires next summer. And "people in other districts are interested him as superintendent,"  and "some of those deadlines are more or less now," Allen said.

"If we are interested in him as a superintendent, we don't want the process to take so long that our window of opportunity closes on us," Allen said.

Farmer said his stamp on the school district would be creating a global awareness and competency program in each school. Students would use Skype and other technology to learn beyond the school, he said.

He's working with on developing a global competency certificate program,  he said.

One student asked if Farmer envisioned renovating Sharon High to accommodate larger classes like hers, which number over 300 students.

Farmer said the enrollment bubble is "moving into the high school or is at the high school," reducing space needs there.

Farmer supports the process leading to the new school start times this fall.

Such discussions have to be "as inclusive as possible, but you ultimately have to make a final decision," he said.

Farmer said "there seems to be some competitiveness" among Sharon's three elementary schools.

He would promote consistency throughout the district as superintendent.

However, he wouldn't stifle principals wishing to create special programs for their schools. He would encourage them to share the ideas with their colleagues.

"Each school and each community will have its own sense of climate or sense of culture," Farmer said.

Farmer came here in August 2008 after 12 years as principal of Franklin's Remington Middle School.

He holds a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Maine and a master's degree in school administration from Rivier College.

He is completing a joint doctoral program of the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College.