NEW BEDFORD — Just two weeks into his new role as Superintendent of New Bedford Public Schools, Thomas Anderson made his first School Committee meeting as the official head of the city's school system.

Anderson took over on July 1, the beginning of the NBPS fiscal year, following the resignation of former Superintendent Dr. Pia Durkin. Though Monday marked his first School Committee meeting as acting Superintendent, Anderson has been seen sitting in at previous meetings since his hiring back in March.

He says that going to the springtime meetings gave him an opportunity to gain a basic insight into the New Bedford School Committee along with the issues they're undertaking.

“In all communities school committee meetings are basically the same, but each committee does things a bit differently,” Anderson explained. “So it was good to get a chance to see how the meeting is run, the audience that comes and the different levels of focus, see what the hot topics are. It was a good learning experience.”

As for the upcoming 2018-19 school year, one of Anderson says that there won't be any surprises. He says that he needs to gain a better understanding of how each school and department operate through working with staff and students.

“There's a lot to catch up on. The biggest thing is learning processes and learning the people. A lot of people have been very welcoming and have been reaching out and sharing their thoughts on things, but I think we'll wait until the middle of the year to take a look at any potential changes,” Anderson said. “We're not looking into restructuring and those types of things. Some things will be naturally done, but right now that's not any priority. We really just need to continue the work that people are expecting.”

Anderson also delivered the Superintendent's Reports during the Monday meeting. The report was expectedly light, as Anderson announced that during the summer months his office will working to fill certain administrative positions, including Deputy Superintendent. He says that he will have more information in the September meeting when he has “some more concrete information once school gets started.”

Anderson also announced what he calls an “Entry Plan”, an outline of his plans for the first few months of the 2018 fiscal year, which he say will be presented in detail to the School Committee at future meetings.

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