Assistant Superintendent Susan Cote has sent the School Committee a letter of interest for the superintendent’s position.

The position was opened when Superintendent Margaret Strojny announced in May that she will be retiring after her contract expires in June 2009. The School Committee will be hiring search companies that will assist in finding a new superintendent

  Cote has had three years of experience working in the East Bridgewater Public Schools and she feels she is ready to pursue the  superintendent position.

Cote said that Superintendent Strojny has been a “role model” for her. Cote feels she has learned a great deal from her work with Storjny.

As the assistant superintendent, Cote does the grant writing and works with the staff and administration on professional development. She also works on the curriculum of the schools, and she had a role in bringing the new reading program into the Central School.

Cote works on the licensure and certifications of the teachers, along with their re-certification.

Cote has experience working with the budget issues this year, as well as, the teacher negotiations.

“Being a part of the budget issues and the negotiations has given me good experience,” said Cote. She felt she gained extra experience from the budget and negotiations because they were not something she had done before.

“I think I’m ready for the position after my ninth year as an assistant superintendent,” said Cote. “It’s something I’ve known I want to do, but I have also loved being an assistant superintendent.”

Cote said that the superintendent position deals with more large scale issues. The superintendent often deals with legal issues and ensures that the school district is in compliance with the state mandates.

She explained the superintendent as the “head of the whole leadership team.”  The position involves working with the teacher associations and strategic planning.

As a leader of the school district the superintendent meets with the other department heads in the town. There is more of a municipal side that comes along with the position and the superintendent works on town wide issues.

Before Cote came to East Bridgewater she was an assistant superintendent for six years in the Swansea school district. 

Cote started her profession at Bishop Stang in Dartmouth 24 years ago. She was a chemistry and biology teacher.

“From there I did my whole career at Swansea,” she said. She began her 19 years there as a math and science teacher at middle school. She then became a department chair, and eventually moved her way up to assistant superintendent. Cote also spent a year at the Department of Education as the statewide science coordinator.

She said that East Bridgewater is a good district to work with and that the teachers are very talented.

“It is the perfect district to want to take a superintendent position in,” said Cote.