The Board of Education extended a warm welcome to a new superintendent last night, noting rave early reviews on Thomas A. Smith, who takes the reins this summer from departing Interim Superintendent Thomas F. Butler.

The Board unanimously approved a four-year contract with Dr. Smith, now serving as an assistant superintendent for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. He begins in Hopewell Valley June 1.

A Ewing Township native, Dr. Smith beat out 23 other candidates for the job. He succeeds Dr. Butler, who has served in the temporary capacity since last August when former Superintendent Judy Ferguson departed.

Two weeks ago, as the Board’s finalist for the job, Dr. Smith spent a day in Hopewell Valley, meeting with various groups, including teachers, parents and students. Feedback received by the Board was strong and overwhelmingly positive.

Known as an energetic leader with an inclusive decision-making style, Smith, 42, has served as West Windsor-Plainsboro’s assistant superintendent for pupil services and planning since 2005. In that position he oversees special education, athletics, guidance, nursing services, community education, district policy development and enrollment monitoring and forecasting.

Education is a second career for the outgoing Dr. Smith, who produced TV commercials in Manhattan for a couple of years after college before discovering that his future lay in working with special needs children.

He began teaching in 1992, working with special needs students in grades 3-8 at Hamilton Township’s Newgrange School. He joined the faculty at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School two years later, where he taught special education and coached the boys’ varsity lacrosse team.

Four years later he was named the district’s assistant director of special services, responsible for special education programs in grades 6-12 and English as a Second Language program K-12.

In 2001 he moved to the much smaller Spotswood School District, where he became part of a three-person administrative team as director of special projects/special services. In 2005, he returned to West Windsor-Plainsboro, where he was named to one of the district’s highest posts.
 
Dr. Smith holds dual degrees in communications and education from Trenton State College. He earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Seton Hall University.

He lives with his wife, Louise, a special education teacher and former Teacher of the Year in West Windsor-Plainsboro, and the couple’s three young children in Upper Freehold Township.