The Springfield School Committee voted unanimously on two appointments recommended by Superintendent (Dr. Denal): Jose Escribano as assistant superintendent for community engagement, family empowerment and partnerships, and Terry Poe as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and professional development.

Superintendent Denal introduced both candidates following a multi-stage vetting process. On the community engagement appointment she said the candidate was “well known and well respected in this community” and had built “strong bridges from the classroom to the home.” The committee moved and seconded the appointment; a roll call recorded unanimous yes votes from Mister Gonzales, Attorney Murphy, Mister Collins, Miss Gresham, Miss Hurst, Mister Miller and Mayor Sarno.

After the vote, Jose Escribano thanked the committee and community and described his priorities: “I’m very excited to really make sure that we strengthen, that community engagement and that we have, you know, strong partnerships, not only in Springfield, but nationally,” he said, adding a focus on bringing philanthropy and grants to the district.

The committee then approved the appointment of Terry Poe, praised by members for her record at Brookings Elementary. Poe said she was grateful for the opportunity and pledged to ‘‘put 110 effort into whatever is needed to get our students to greater levels of proficiency and to love on new teachers.’’

Why it matters: the new hires assign district-level responsibility for family engagement and instructional leadership at a time when the committee is negotiating teacher compensation and responding to shortages in specialists and classroom staff.

Next steps: human resources will proceed with onboarding and the district will post announcements and biographies on the website, per committee remarks.

Ending: both appointments were described by members as long-awaited promotions for local leaders with community experience.