NEW BEDFORD - The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is passing control of a New Bedford school to a non-profit organization.

In 2013, the John Avery Parker Elementary School was operating as a Level 5 school, and was placed into receivership, with Superintendent Dr. Pia Durkin being named as the receiver.

The DESE said in a letter Thursday that since Dr. Durkin is stepping down on June 30, the Parker School will be placed under control of the non-profit organization School & Main Institute, assisted by Dr. Fran Roy.

Dr. Roy served as the assistant superintendent of Fall River Public Schools, and has spent her career in education working in districts throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. She holds a master's degree in mathematics from Rhode Island College and a doctorate in education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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