School President to Retire in 2013; School’s Steering Committee to Identify Search Parameters

June 14, 2011 - Louis Abbate, Ed.D, President and CEO of the Willie Ross School for the Deaf, will retire from his position on June 30, 2013, leading the school’s Executive Committee to task the Steering Committee to identify a successor with the skills and requirements needed in the next executive to lead the school.
 
According to Susan Phillips, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, “We have been fortunate to have someone of Dr. Abbate’s skill and leadership ability for so long at the Willie Ross School for the Deaf. His announce-ment to retire in two years is bittersweet for all of us. We appreciate the work he has done on behalf of the students and parents we serve, and he has been a joy for the board to work with; but, at the same time, we will be losing someone with vast experience who is recognized as a national leader in the field of the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

“Fortunately for the school, the window we have in replacing Dr. Abbate is a long one, and we plan to use his knowledge as we work to secure new leadership in 2013. With this in mind, we will engage the existing Steering Committee with the task of identifying the skills needed in the school’s next leader and in developing the appropriate parameters for the search process.  The group will eventually establish a search committee, which will identify quality candidates and make a recommendation to the full board.  The work of the Steering Committee in developing leadership criteria will also inform, and be linked to, the new strategic planning process that is being initiated by our Executive Committee.

“We are confident, given the amount of advance notice that we have on Dr. Abbate’s retirement in two years, that we will be able to find a successor who possesses the skills and experience needed to lead Willie Ross into the future,” Phillips said.
Abbate began serving as Executive Director in 1985. Prior to his appointment at WRSD, he served as Director of the School Psychology Program at American International College and as a Special Education Director for Frontier Regional Schools.  The school’s Partnership Campus with East Longmeadow was developed during his tenure and is now recognized as a model program throughout the U.S.  The Willie Ross Longmeadow Campus provides a range of academic opportunities from early childhood through high school.
Since his arrival at WRSD, Dr. Abbate has overseen construction of the Cooley Administration Building, renovation of the Curtis L. Blake Center for Audiological Services, establishment of the Laurin Audiological Center in Pittsfield and the Foster & Constance Gleason Furcolo Student Center at the Longmeadow Campus and, most recently, expansion of the Longmeadow Campus including an outdoor classroom, basketball court, playing fields and play areas.

Dr. Abbate has presented all over the United States on WRSD’s model and instructional approach.  He presents frequently on WRSD’s use of incremental mainstreaming and how the Willie Ross partnership comports with the Least Restrictive Environment requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
 
He holds an Ed.D in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts and during his tenure at Willie Ross expanded the community-based division of the school to over twenty-five communities in three counties in Western Massachusetts, facilitating the integration of deaf and hard-of-hearing students into their local schools.

According to Abbate, “The Willie Ross School for the Deaf is a true educational community.  Our students are wonderful, our alumni successful and our staff extraordinary.  I have been privileged to work with them and an extraordinary Board of Trustees.  Children always come first at WRSD. Knowing that we are providing educational excellence to deaf and hard-of-hearing children and preparing them to be successful citizens is fulfilling to me and to all of the great individuals I have had a chance to work with.

“Announcing my retirement a full two years before I leave affords the school the opportunity to be deliberate and thoughtful in the process of identifying a new leader for this very special institution. I will be as involved as the Board of Trustees wants me to be in identifying and working with a new leader for the school when my retirement takes place in 2013,” Abbate said.

The Willie Ross School for the Deaf provides a comprehensive educational program stressing academic excellence that focuses on the development of students’ intellectual, social and emotional growth from the early childhood level through high school. Willie Ross serves students at its main campus in Longmeadow and at its partnership campus located in the East Longmeadow Schools. Mainstreaming opportunities are provided at the partnership campus.