TPS District Newsletter

Dear TPS Community,

As your soon-to-be retired Superintendent, this is my last District Newsletter to all of you. So let me begin by saying that serving the Tewksbury Public School (TPS) District for the past 26 years has been my absolute passion and a true labor of love. My connection to this community runs incredibly deep and spans many chapters of my life. To have spent my career as an educator and educational leader, right here in my own hometown has been the greatest honor of my professional life.

While I look forward to a slower, more quiet pace in retirement, I am going to deeply miss the daily heartbeat of our TPS school community. It is incredibly hard to leave a "workplace" when it is actually… home.

So, I decided to make my final address to all of you more of a letter of gratitude and pride.

Dear Students and Families:

Students, you are the heart and soul of Tewksbury. You have always come first and are the core reason I worked in education. You have proven time and time again that we truly have the best kids of all. From my very first 6th-grade class in school year 2000, to this unforgettable Class of 2026, with whom I have the distinct privilege of finishing my TPS career with, and every student in between, thank you. My heart is completely full of the memories we shared. The beautiful secret of education is that learning always goes both ways. In the brightest of days, the hardest of times, and the unexpected moments, you taught me joy. I leave this role a better person, entirely because I knew all of you.

To our partnering families, thank you for trusting me with your children and turning a career into a lifelong work of heart. Thank you for your PAC support and volunteerism that brought so many enriching experiences to our students. What I’ll miss most isn't the title or the office, but the shared joy of watching your children grow up in the community we both call home. So, if you see me out and about, please feel free to tell me how your kids are doing, as I look forward to hearing about their new adventures.

Dear Faculty and Support Staff:

I will deeply miss the privilege of walking our hallways and witnessing the awe-inspiring creativity and classroom magic you made happen for our students every single day, and the dedicated wraparound care I see support staff show students in the offices, health suites, and cafeterias, all to provide a supportive, clean, and safe school facility. I’ll miss our shared laughter, the tears, and the beautiful camaraderie that turned so many of us into a true family over these past 26 years. Most of all, I will miss all of you who have made our shared life's work feel like a beautiful, shared gift.

Dear Central Office Staff:

Thank you for the dedication and professionalism you bring to our district office. As the frontline of the District, you handle every call with grace, calm, and kindness. From tackling last-minute tasks (sometimes I threw them at you at the last minute), to flawlessly meeting year-round report deadlines, you truly were the wind beneath my wings. Thank you for making us all look good, and most of all, for the laughs and fun we shared!

Dear Administrative Team:

At the heart of my leadership has always been a simple truth: relationships matter, and “it takes a village” to build a great school system. No superintendent does this work alone, and you are the very soul of our village. I have watched you care for students, staff, and families through the celebratory moments and through some of their toughest times. You remind me daily that what we do is so much more than a job. Looking back, I know I only had this incredible opportunity because of the mentors who paved the way for me. It has been an absolute honor to carry their legacy forward with you. I hope I’ve been able to offer you that same supportive mentorship and a good dose of fun along our journey together. Leaving this work in the hands of such a talented, brilliant team fills me with immense pride. The future of our district is incredibly bright, and I step away with total peace of mind, knowing you will continue to champion our community with everything you’ve got. Thank you all for striving alongside me every day to keep our students first.

Dear Tewksbury School Committee:

I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the School Committee members (my bosses) both present and past, who have believed in me, served alongside me, and supported me throughout my professional journey. I have been profoundly blessed to work with these members and with visionary Chairs. You have consistently supported improved resources, policies, and programs that aim to enhance teaching and learning and healthy school buildings. And, together, we’ve weathered immense challenges, but through it all, you have never lost sight of our North Star: our students. Having a committee so fiercely committed to collaboration isn't just a benefit, it is a total game-changer in the superintendency. Thank you for always keeping our students at the center of everything you do.

Dear Tewksbury Town Leaders:

A Superintendent also cannot do this work without a strong partnership with our town leaders. Thank you to our chiefs of police and fire, and to our Town Managers, who have been collaborative supporters of the work we do, to fund the needs of our schools, and keep our students and staff safe. Thank you also to all the Town departments and elected officials who always remember the students and schools in their town planning.

In closing:

When I think back on 26 years of serving students and families, I am so proud of the big work and the lasting legacy we have built together. From actively working on four new school building projects and lowering class sizes to installing SMART interactive boards in every classroom, upgrading school safety, and ensuring that state-of-the-art technology and high-quality instructional resources were in every student's hands, our achievements have been substantial. Being a part of those achievements has been a deeply gratifying honor.

Yet, physical and policy upgrades pale in comparison to the human impact of this work. I am profoundly proud of how we have broadened horizons for our students through free, full-day kindergarten and expanded preschool options; expanded STEM education across all grade levels; opened new doors to AP, Early College, Innovation Career Pathways, and Project Lead the Way courses; and offered the MA Seal of Biliteracy pathway, just to name a few.

True achievement, however, requires a foundation of well-being. By significantly scaling up our ESL, counseling, specialized student services, and social-emotional support systems, we ensured that as we raised academic expectations, we also raised the level of care for every child. Every single day, my mission was simply never to stop striving for more for our students’ success.

I believe that people enter our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, each bringing a lesson we need to learn. Doing this vital work here in Tewksbury has taught me everything about my purpose, the power of a deeply caring community, and why I fell in love with this thing called education. If I am being completely honest, it was this work, and all of you, that sustained my own family and me through some significantly difficult personal times.

So, while I look forward to a quieter pace, I will deeply miss the joyful noise of our students and the daily energy of schools. I will miss you, students, families, and colleagues, who turned my profession into a life's calling. It has been the honor of a lifetime to watch our children grow and succeed in these hallways, knowing that what I’ll miss most isn't the job itself, but being a small part of their big journeys right here in our hometown.

With my sincere gratitude,

Brenda Theriault-Regan