Superintendent Search Finalists Announced

At their December 20th meeting, the Hopkinton School Committee announced that the Superintendent Search Screening Committee has identified four candidates for further consideration by the School Committee for the position of Superintendent of Schools. The eleven member Screening Committee included representation from the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, the district’s administrative office, building level administration, professional teaching staff, community representatives, and parents.

The Screening Committee considered twenty applicants for this position and interviewed eight applicants. At the conclusion of its work, the Superintendent Search Screening Committee put forth the following slate of candidates (in alphabetical order) as finalists for the position.

Mr. Joseph Baeta is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at Northcentral University. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics from U Mass-Boston, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in History/Secondary Education from Fitchburg State College. He is currently the Superintendent for Holbrook Public Schools. He previously served as Principal of Holbrook Jr.-Sr. High School, and has been the Coordinator for Curriculum, Assessment and Professional Development as well as the Academic Coordinator for the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical school district. He began his career as the At-Risk Coordinator at Athol-Royalston Regional High School.

Dr. Steven Hiersche holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Sarasota. He also holds a Master of Education in Secondary Administration from Westfield State College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, also from Westfield State. He is currently the Interim Superintendent for Hopkinton Public Schools. He previously served as Superintendent for Framingham, Watertown, and Plymouth Public Schools, as well as the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union, a six-community regional district in Vermont. He began his career as a mathematics teacher at the John F. Kennedy Jr. High School in Enfield, CT.

Dr. Andrew Keough holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Boston College, a Master of Arts in Public School Administration and a Master of Education in Moderate Special needs, both from Framingham State College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Roger Williams College. He is currently the Principal for Wellesley High School. He previously served as Principal for Medfield High School, and Assistant Principal for Hopkinton High School and Blackstone-Millville Regional Middle/High School. He began his career as a teacher at Douglas Memorial High School.

Ms. Cathy MacLeod i is currently a Doctoral candidate at the School of Education at Boston University. She also holds a Master of Education in Educational Administration from the College of New Jersey and a Master of Arts in Applied Child Psychology from the University of Guelph (Ontario), as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Brock University (Ontario). She is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Easton Public Schools. She previously served as an Elementary Principal and the Director of Literacy and Title I for Pembroke Public Schools. She began her career as a Classroom Teacher and Team Leader for the Montgomery Township (NJ) School District.

The finalists will make individual visits to the district between January 7th and January 22nd, and will be individually interviewed by the School Committee in public sessions at the conclusion of those visits. The visits will include a tour of each school and meetings with administrators, faculty, staff members, parents and members of the community.

To see the letter from School Committee Chairman Nancy Burdick and the resumes of the four candidates, see the attachment below.

The School Committee plans to announce its selected candidate for the position of Superintendent of Schools by March, 2013.

A final schedule of interviews and community meetings will be announced as soon as dates are finalized. For more information, please visit the Superintendent Search Page on the Hopkinton Public School District website: www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us.