Leslie B. Edinson

Les Edinson recently retired from his position as a leadership consultant for the West/Central Regional Team of DESE's Statewide System of Support. Prior to this, Les worked as a member of the Pioneer Valley DSAC Team and served as a Monitoring Site Visit Team Leader for SchoolWorks. Les is an experienced principal who has been a successful leader of pilot and magnet schools in both urban and rural environments. He was the founding principal of the Fitchburg Arts Academy, and served as a principal in Springfield, Holyoke, Shutesbury and Hubbardston, Massachusetts. An experienced staff developer, he served in that role in Cambridge, MA and has spoken on multicultural schools, performance-based assessment, restructuring rural schools, and co-facilitated the Inclusive Practices Network in Western Mass. A graduate of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, he has an M.Ed. from Salem State College.