School Committee approved 13 names for the Mablehead superintendent screening committee.
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School Committee members finalized the Superintendent Search Screening Committee Thursday, Nov. 7 when they pulled four names out of a hat.
Members of the public had been invited to submit their names to be on the screening committee. School Committee member Jenn Schaeffner said nine names had already been determined but the committee decided the only fair way to choose the final four was to pull the names from a hat, or in this case a bag.
The names to be drawn included one community member, one former educator and two teachers, including one from the elementary level and another from the middle school. There were three names under each category, and they were pulled separately.
Names pulled out of hat:
Libby Moore; retired Veterans Middle School principal
Katie Martin; parent representing grades pre K-6
Deborah Whitney; parent representing grades 7-12
Joan Rosenthal; community member at-large
Names already determined:
Jason Silva; Town Administrator
Jackie Belf-Becker; Selectman Chairman
Daniel Bauer; Marblehead High School Principal
Eric Oxford; Interim Student Services Director
Tawny Callaghan; Marblehead school teacher
Rachel Levitt; Marblehead school teacher
Brian Birke; Special Education Parent Advisory Council member
Sarah Fox; School Committee member
Jenn Schaeffner; School Committee member
Committee Job Description
“We have a committee,” said School Committee member Meagan Taylor following the vote to approve all 13 names.
But what is its charge?
School Committee Chairman Sarah Gold said the screening committee has a very narrowly defined task, which is to sift through resumes, match them against criteria laid out in the candidate profile and deliver a list of finalists for the job of superintendent.
Start date
The School Committee held a number of focus groups during the first week of November that gave students, parents, administrators, PTO members, town officials and community members at large a chance to discuss the qualities and characteristics they would like to see in the next superintendent.
Gold said the committee would meet with New England School Development Council representatives, who are guiding them through the search process, to develop the profile based on the information gathered during the focus groups. Once that’s done, “the committee will be charged with looking at resumes,” she said.
Number 1 Criterion
“Social emotional learning, without a doubt” said Schaeffner.
She said many important attributes were discussed during the focus groups but from students to teachers to administrators it was easy to see that “getting students in the door and teaching them is our job, but social emotional support is really, really big, it’s really important.”
Marblehead High School student Dan Howells said he had the opportunity to attend the student focus group where support for mental health resources, LGBQT awareness and inclusivity as well as diversity surfaced as the most important issues.
Next Steps
Interim Superintendent William McAlduff said according to the timeline the School Committee developed, the screening committee should have a list of candidates to present to the School Committee in early January. The committee will then review the candidates and begin interviews.
“We are moving forward,” Taylor said.
