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PITTSFIELD — When Herberg Middle School students return to school at the end of the month, they’ll be greeted by a new face. The school will start the year under the leadership of a new principal, William Wood.

Wood joins Pittsfield Public Schools after nearly a decade of work as an educator at several school districts in New York. Voice messages and emails left by The Eagle with Wood and staff at Herberg Middle School were not returned.

Most recently Wood served as the principal of the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School in Windham, N.Y. The school in the Catskill Mountains enrolled about 300 students between kindergarten and 12th grade last school year.

Prior to Wood’s year in Windham, he worked as the career and technical education principal at Questar III BOCES and the associate principal of Hudson Senior High School, both in Hudson, N.Y. Wood also worked as an English teacher at the Adirondack Academy in Johnstown, N.Y., and at Canajoharie High School in Canajoharie, N.Y.

Wood has a certificate of advanced graduate study in school building leadership from the University at Albany (N.Y.), a masters of science in education from the College of Saint Rose and a bachelors of arts in English from UAlbany.

In past interviews with districts in New York and on his LinkedIn page, Wood mentioned that he is fluent in Italian and a former professional musician.

The recent addition to the district was hired to fill the role left vacant with the resignation of former Herberg Principal Jason Hynek.

Pittsfield Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Curtis informed Herberg families and staff on June 1 that Hynek had tendered his resignation to the district for “personal reasons.”

“Principal Hynek has played a vital role in our school community, and we thank him for his service to the students and staff of Herberg Middle School,” Curtis wrote in the letter.

Hynek joined the district in August 2020 and led the middle school through the thick of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to working in Pittsfield, Hynek held several interim, acting and assistant principal positions in schools in Springfield and North Brookfield.

Hynek’s resignation came nearly a month after Curtis named Steve Smith, the middle school’s assistant principal, as the acting principal. Hynek had reportedly been out of school for some time before Smith’s appointment was announced — an absence that raised questions from some community members.

In the letter announcing Smith’s appointment on May 7, Curtis apologized for a delay in communicating with families “as we are respecting confidentiality” and said that “Principal Hynek will continue to not be at Herberg Middle School.”

Over the summer, Curtis convened an 11-person search committee of Herberg teachers and staff, district employees, school families and community members to interview candidates for the leadership role.

The superintendent said the group met with three of four candidates who were invited to interview for the position — one candidate dropped out of the running — before selecting Wood to lead the school into the coming school year and beyond.

With a new principal hired at Herberg Middle School, Curtis said that Smith will return to work this school year at Taconic High School. The school’s website lists Smith as the vice principal.