ME search panel slates supt. talks

MANCHESTER — The second committee seeking to find a successor to outgoing Marcia O'Neil is closing in on its selection for the Manchester Essex Regional School District's next superintendent.

For the second time this spring, a search committee has zeroed in on three finalists and has announced it plans to make a decision by May 21.

The finalists are Joan Landers, superintendent of Wakefield public schools; Pamela Anne Beaudoin, director of curriculum and technology at North Reading public schools; and Bonny Gifford, principal of Hastings Middle School in Fairhaven.

The three candidates to replace O'Neil, who is retiring at the end of the school year in June, will participate in public interviews with the School Committee next week.

Beaudoin will visit the district on Wednesday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A community reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by her interview at 7 p.m.

Gifford will repeat that schedule when she visits on Thursday, while Landers will be the last to face the Committee on Friday.

School Committee Chairman Susan Coviello encouraged the public to attend the receptions, which are aimed at giving parents, teachers, and residents an informal setting in which to speak with the candidates and ask them questions.

Following the final interview on Friday, the School Committee will deliberate and is expected to make its final decision.

Meanwhile, this week, teams of search committee members are being deployed to each candidates home district.

A team from Manchester Essex toured Beaudoin's district on Wednesday, another team is visiting Landers' district today, and on Friday search members will spend time at Gifford's place of work in Fairhaven.

Beaudoin has been director of curriculum and technology in North Reading since 2003. Prior to her current position, Beaudoin was an assistant principal at Peabody High School for a year, a program advisor for social studies for Andover Public Schools for six years and a social studies teacher at Ipswich High School for two years.

"Knowing the strong reputation of the (MERSD), I am excited at the possibility of becoming a contributing member of a leadership team that focuses not only on academic achievement but also on the social and emotional development of its students," Beaudoin stated in her cover letter for the position.

Beaudoin said effective schools are designed to permit students to maximize their intellectual, physical, emotional, moral, and social capabilities. The traditional paradigm established to meet the needs of a 19th century society, she said, needs to change.

"A classroom is no longer confined to the brick and mortar of a school building. The world is our classroom, and the tools of the 21st century are the conduit to our shared past, a connection to our collective present, and the building blocks of our interconnected future," she said in a vision statement sent to the search committee.

Landers has more than 25 years of experience in education. She has led Wakefield public schools as their superintendent for the past two years, but has worked as an administrator for the district since 2002. Wakefield has 3,369 students, 409 staff members, and an annual budget of approximately $27 million.

She worked as an administrator in Amesbury public schools from 1999 to 2002. She worked as a teacher in Lynn from 1991 to 1994 before taking a job as director of Welcoming Alternative School in Lynn. Prior to that, she worked as a teacher in North Andover and Bellingham.

She says she believes she is "uniquely qualified to offer innovative ideas and a fresh approach to the position of superintendent of Manchester Essex Regional School District."

"I am passionate about leading by consensus, but I am not afraid to make tough decisions in a respectful manner," she added. "Although these are difficult times in public education, I believe the challenges will lead to an improved educational system in our country."

Gifford, of Westport, has been principal of Hastings Middle School since 2007. Gifford also served as administrator of technical programs at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School for two years and as a Business Technology Academy Coordinator at Westport High School from 1998 to 2005. She began her career in 1991 at Westport High School as a special education teacher.

At Hastings Middle School, Gifford said she has cultivated leadership capacity throughout the organization through the appointment of a teaching and learning team. The Standard-Times of New Bedford recently named Gifford Fairhaven's "Woman of the Year" in recognition of the improvements at Hastings Middle School.

Gifford said education is about the relationship between a teacher and a student and that the quality of that relationship determines the success of the child and the level of satisfaction of the teacher. She believes the job of an administrator is to develop and nurture a "positive, student-centered learning environment."

"There is the rightful desire to create productive learning environments where teachers and students work together; there is also the practical business CEO superintendent who must work within continually restricted budgets and rigorous rules and regulations," Gifford said in a personal statement.

The Manchester Essex Regional School District has 1,382 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, roughly 100 faculty members, and an annual operating budget of approximately $20 million. Ninety-three percent of the Class of 2009 pursued higher education.

The original search for a new superintendent began accepting applications Jan. 4, and that panel whittled some 25 candidates down to three finalists. But two of those accepted positions in other districts and the committee opted not hire to the third finalist.

After the first interview for prospective replacements, the School Committee decided to reopen the search and dissolve the first Search Committee.

The highest paid superintendent on Cape Ann in 2009, O'Neil was making $169,983. But the School Committee is targeting the salary for her successor at between $130,000 to $155,000, though $175,000 has been budgeted for the post for the coming school year, Coviello has said.

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.

SUPERINTENDENT FINALISTS

Joan Landers — Superintendent of Schools, Wakefield public schools. Bachelor's degree in Education from Providence College; Master's in Education from Salem State College; and a candidate for Doctorate of Education at Cambridge College.

Bonny Gifford — Principal, Hastings Middle School, Fairhaven. Bachelor's degree in Business from Southeastern Massachusetts University; Master's in Education in Curriculum from Framingham State College; Master's in Education in Special Education from Bridgewater State College; and Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, from Johnson & Wales University.

Pamela Anne Beaudoin — Director of Curriculum and Technology, North Reading public schools. Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Simmons College and Master's of Arts in Teaching from Simmons College.

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