Vermont Superintendents Association
Thomas O’Brien,
Superintendent of the Addison Northwest Supervisory Union,
Named 2010 Vermont Superintendent of the Year
Tom O’Brien, Superintendent of the Addison Northwest Supervisory Union has been selected as the Vermont Superintendent of the Year for 2010 by the Vermont Superintendents Association (VSA). O’Brien was presented the Frederick H. Tuttle Superintendent of the Year Award on May 20th at the annual meeting of the Association.
O’Brien
was recognized for his leadership at the local and state levels. During his
tenure at Addison Northwest, which comprises the towns of Panton, Waltham,
Addison, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes, O’Brien has focused on guiding continuous
improvement in the areas of academic performance, opportunities for less
engaged students, individual student progress monitoring and energy and overall
school efficiency.
O’Brien
has also emerged as a leader in the unification of school districts within the
Supervisory Union and has supported local school boards in their efforts to
achieve a more effective and efficient delivery structure. O’Brien is recognized in Vermont for his
leadership on the transformation of school governance structures. He is a
leader on the topic within the Superintendents Association and has provided
testimony on the subject before various committees of the Vermont General
Assembly. O’Brien is outspoken in his
support of more effective school governance models.
This
year, O’Brien was selected to serve on the task force established by Education
Commissioner Armando Vilaseca to advise on the implementation of the General
Assemblies’ Challenges for Change
initiative.
In
2009, O’Brien was named the Administrator of the Year by the Vermont Association
of Education Office Professionals for the support he shows for school personnel
who handle the administrative and operations functions in the Addison Northwest
Supervisory Union and schools.
In
presenting the award to O’Brien, outgoing VSA president John Everitt noted,
“While highly visible superintendents are often recognized for this service
award, the real service of superintendents is day-to-day work of leading and
managing the schools and districts for our children, parents, teachers, and community. Recognizing the efforts of Tom O’Brien
acknowledges the work of all superintendents supporting the delivery of quality
education to Vermont’s children.”
The
Frederick H. Tuttle Service Award is presented annually to a superintendent who
makes outstanding contributions to educational leadership at the local,
regional and state levels and is committed to public education for the children
of Vermont. The award was established to recognize the service and
accomplishments of former South Burlington Superintendent Frederick H. Tuttle.