Guilford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Paul Freeman was named superintendent of the year by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS).

Founded in 1907, CAPSS is a non-profit based in West Hartford that provides advocacy and support for district-level administrators around the state, according to its website.

Freeman began working in Guilford in 2011, serving in Griswold as its superintendent prior to that.

Freeman co-chaired the state’s “Learn from Home Task Force” last spring, which focused on the logistical and equity challenges of distance learning following the initial closure of schools during the pandemic. He is also an adjunct instructor at UConn’s Neag School of Education, traveling to Jordan in 2016 to help provide educational leadership to that country.

In a Nov. 13 press release announcing the award, CAPPS also highlighted Freeman’s efforts to discontinue the use of the Guilford Indians moniker, which was officially retired this past summer.

Freeman’s acceptance speech was posted on the district website www.guilfordschools.org. In it, he highlighted Guilford’s search for equity in the wake of renewed social and racial justice conversations this summer following the murder of George Floyd, as well as upheaval around the pandemic.

“I know that schools will support us and help carry us through this pandemic,” Freeman said. “I believe that education will bring us to more just and equitable communities and societies. And I trust that it is learning that will be the bright light that will rekindle our spirits after what has been an unrelentingly challenging year.”