Colleen Hawkins, the Saugus Union School District’s superintendent for the past eight years, announced her retirement in a message sent to the district’s board and cabinet on Wednesday afternoon.
Following 33 years as an educator, and eight years of those leading the Saugus district as superintendent, Hawkins announced she is retiring effective July 1, 2026.
“My career has been one of service leadership that has been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling,” Hawkins wrote in the letter titled, “Much gratitude to SUSD for a Wonderful Opportunity,” and sent electronically at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“The last two years have been filled with personal challenges and heartbreaks that included the loss of my son to cancer. These years have also included several health challenges and the wonderful birth of my first grandchild,” the letter reads. “All of these things combined have caused me to take stock and determine that it is time to spend the next phase of life with my daughter and her husband, my new granddaughter and my mother.”
In the letter, Hawkins thanked the Saugus community for the past eight years and said that, through challenging world events, “together we have achieved many amazing success(es).”
She closed the letter sharing her excitement as she nears her retirement and said she anticipates the Saugus district is filled with continued success and great promise.
“The students, staff, parents and community are amazing and the next superintendent will continue to build new success into the future. Thank you to everyone I’ve encountered during my time here. It has truly been a pleasure.”
Hawkins’ announcement comes a day after a district governing board meeting in which many parents and staff voiced concerns about the ongoing issues of student behavior that some contend have been ignored by district officials for years.
In an interview with The Signal at the start of the school year, Hawkins said one of her top priorities was addressing student behavior.
“We want to help our kids have the ability to self-regulate and the ability to problem-solve, have the patience to wait for something, or the ability to share with other children,” Hawkins said in a brief interview in August. “It’s about having empathy for other people and humans. We’re finding post-COVID era, with smartphones and tablets, our kids are losing ability to empathize with other humans.”
So far this semester, almost all Saugus school board meetings have drawn public comments in relation to student behavior, including threats of violence and inappropriate sexual statements, and the lack of solutions that have been reached to date.
Governing board members Matthew Watson and Christopher Trunkey stated in separate emails that governing board President Patti Garibay would be providing a statement in relation to Hawkins’ resignation, but at the time of this story’s publication one wasn’t provided.
Board member Anna Griese did not provide additional comment. Hawkins could not immediately be reached for further comment on Wednesday afternoon.
