LYNN — Debra Ruggiero, executive director of curriculum and instruction for Lynn Public Schools since January, has been appointed the district’s new deputy superintendent.
Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler announced the appointment on Thursday. Tutwiler was the district’s deputy superintendent for the past three years, before starting his new role last month.
Ruggiero, a Peabody resident, will start Oct. 1.
The Lynn English High School graduate has worked for the Lynn Public Schools for 32 years. Her tenure has included a variety of teaching positions, including, but not limited to special education and classroom teacher.
She served as a curriculum and instruction teacher for three years before landing her first principalship. Ruggiero then spent 11 years in principal roles, most recently at Harrington Elementary School.
In his announcement, Tutwiler said Ruggiero set herself apart from a talented candidate pool for Lynn’s deputy superintendent. With experience, education and license criteria satisfied, the hiring committee sought a candidate who could use his or her leadership experience and knowledge of instruction on the support effort with building teachers.
The committee was also looking for a suitable senior leadership “teammate,” a professional who could push the collective thinking and whose core values and collaborative spirit are a match with those of the existing team.
“In every way measurable, Ms. Ruggiero demonstrated best fit with what was sought,” the announcement reads.
“While Ms. Ruggiero’s tenure in the Lynn Public Schools is extended, her addition as deputy superintendent reflects not necessarily a continuation of the way things are, but a forging forward in new and innovative, but collaboratively-explored ways.”
Ruggiero was a candidate for the superintendent position in Peabody last year.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Lesley College and earned her Master of Education degree specializing in reading and literacy from Endicott College. Ruggiero has completed the Principal Preparation Program at the Merrimack Education Center.
Ruggiero is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as a teacher in early childhood, reading and special needs; as an elementary principal; and as an administrator at all levels. She also holds the Sheltered English Immersion endorsement as required by DESE.
She has three adult children.