Lyme
Harris will step down from roles as superintendent of the Lyme and Rivendell Interstate school districts at the end of the school year. But the 66-year-old school administrator still plans to stay active.
Harris became a court-appointed special advocate for children last year, and hopes to spend more time volunteering with Americans Caring Teaching Sharing, a nonprofit that creates health, teaching and development programs in Honduras.
“The two jobs this year was enough to convince me that I’m ready to be done,” Harris said on Thursday. “I’m proud that I’ve been a superintendent for 17 years, 11 of which were in Lebanon. Those two in duration pretty much exceed the norm.”
Harris was praised during his long tenure in Lebanon as a stabilizing force in the district. He also fostered passage of the $25 million bond to construct the new Lebanon Middle School off of Route 4, which he considers his biggest accomplishment.
When he left the district in 2011, Harris had plans to run the Teacher Education Program part-time at Dartmouth College. But when a position opened a year later with the Lyme School District, he took the opportunity to return to work.
“After being at Lyme for a few days, I realized how much I like being around schools,” Harris said in 2011. “I like the public aspect of it. I like the business and law aspect. I love working and watching students.”
In 2015, Harris joined also joined the Rivendell Interstate School District, and began splitting days between Orford and Lyme. Although the two districts aren’t as large as Lebanon, Harris said, he prefers spending time in the schools to working in a business office.
“(I love) the public part of the job in all respects: representing the public, meeting with community members and parents, going to basketball games, the life of the schools,” Harris said. “I particularly valued that in Lebanon, where I wanted to be part of the community and enjoyed that tremendously.”
He’s become a fixture in Lyme, said School Board Chairwoman, Elizabeth Glenshaw. During his six years at the Lyme School, she said, Harris helped retool teaching assessments and planned for the recent renovation project.
“I think we need more people like Mike out there with an incredible commitment to quality education for our kids in a thoughtful and cost effect way,” Glenshaw said. “He has a lot of passion for what’s best for the kids.”
Rivendell School Board member Katherine Blanchard said Harris has contributed to the district’s good reputation, test scores and international programs. The district encompasses the towns of West Fairlee, Fairlee, Vershire and Orford.
“Working with Mike has been quite easy (and) comfortable. I look to him for whatever consulting the board needs,” Blanchard said. “If he wanted to, we’d be happy to have him for another year.”
Harris is also working with Rivendell and Lyme to find his replacement. While Rivendell is seeking another part-time superintendent, Lyme is hoping to move in a different direction.
Glenshaw said the board is planning to retool the principal’s position so that Lyme School Principal Jeff Valence will also take on the role of district administrator.
Lyme would also hire an academic director to help formulate the school’s curriculum.
“We think it’s going to have a great impact on the (programs) in the school compared to a traditional superintendent,” Glenshaw said, adding Harris helped developed the plan.
At Rivendell, an 11-member committee made up of parents, students and administrators is spearheading the search for a new, part-time superintendent. So far, 17 applicants have been narrowed down to six to be interviewed in the coming week, said Blanchard, a member of the search committee.
“We’re looking for the typical candidate who walks on water,” she joked, adding the district is looking to applicants primarily from New England because of the district’s cross-border character.
“We are an interstate school district and you need to know about both (Vermont and New Hampshire), and you need to be able to tap resources in both,” she said.
Of the 17 who applied for the position, Glenshaw said, she considers most worthy to serve the position, and said the committee is on track to name a successor before Harris’ retirement later this year.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.