District Hires New Special Ed Supervisor

The Board of Education has extended a job offer to West Hartford resident Eric Colón-Rodríguez to be the district's new special education supervisor following an executive session Tuesday night.

Colón-Rodríguez had been the Planning and Placement Team coordinator for the consolidated school district of New Britain. He also worked as a bilingual school psychologist for that district.

He will take over for Janet Calabro, who left the Newtown school district for a job elsewhere during the summer.

In addition to his professional experience, Colón-Rodríguez holds academic positions, including as an adjunct at Southern Connecticut State University and Central Connecticut State University, according to his resume.

He also has served as a consultant at several districts, including in Newtown in 2007. He specializes in the area of special education, namely for culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Among Colón-Rodríguez's references is Michael Regan, Newtown's director of pupil services.

Colón-Rodríguez will join the district as a member of the administrators' union.

During fiscal year 2010-11, Calabro, his predecessor, earned $114,624. As a new district administrator and considering that he will start Oct. 4, Colón-Rodríguez will earn $89,440 his first year, according to a human resources coordinator.

He joins the district at a time when its handling of special education has faced criticism from two state representatives who said they have received multiple complaints from parents. The and making improvements where necessary.

Editor's note: This article has been updated since it was originally published to include Colón-Rodríguez's first year salary amount.