Westfield Superintendent Announces Retirement
Westfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Margaret Dolan has announced that she will retire as of July 1, 2021. Dolan made the announcement at the Jan. 19 Board of Education virtual meeting.
“It has been a great honor to serve the Westfield Public Schools as a principal, assistant superintendent, and the district’s first female superintendent,” Dolan wrote in a letter of notification to board members. “I would like to thank the thirty board of education members with whom I have and am now working.”
Dolan began her career in Westfield as principal of Franklin Elementary School in 1996 before becoming assistant superintendent for human resources in 2001. She served as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and programs from 2005-2007 and was appointed superintendent of schools in 2007.
For the past 14 years, Dolan has overseen Westfield’s ten public schools serving more than 6,000 students in grades K-12 with a staff of over 900. She developed yearly goals to fulfill the district’s five-year Strategic Plan and worked closely with the 9-member Board of Education to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. During her tenure as superintendent, the district continually upgraded and improved security protocols and equipment, transitioned to a Standards-Based Report Card, invested in the social and emotional development of its students, encouraged conservation with the installation of solar panels and other measures, supported innovative uses of technology in the classroom, and launched a new website.
Dolan says leading the district through the COVID-19 pandemic has been the most challenging aspect of her tenure, but she feels confident that she is leaving the district “a strong and talented administrative team.”
“Our principals and supervisors are skilled, knowledgeable and committed to our students,” she says. “Our teachers have always searched for imaginative and creative approaches to inspire their students. This has never been more true than during the pandemic.”
Dolan, a lifelong advocate for the arts and a musician herself, also has served during the past year as president of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA).
In her letter to the Board, Dolan states that “it is our great fortune” to have parents who value education and who support the district’s educators. “We find hope in the future, as we watch our students’ creativity, thoughtfulness, and resiliency,” she writes.
Dolan says she is hopeful that the next school year will bring an easing of COVID restrictions. Regardless, she says, “of one thing I am certain. The Westfield Public School District will maintain its tradition of excellence, as it has in times of trial, and in times of triumph, guided by a vision informed by the Board of Education, the staff members, the parents, and the students.”
