Members of the Manchester Essex School Committee interviewed the two remaining finalists Friday night with an eye toward naming the district's next superintendent — and decided instead to reopen the search.
Michael Cozort, superintendent of the Shaker Regional School District in New Hampshire, and Thomas Gwin, principal at Winchester High School, were put in the hot seat and asked questions by the School Committee and later community residents under the open interview format,
The field of applicants, narrowed by a district-wide search committee from 25 to three finalists, had shrunk again the night before when Marc Kerble, assistant superintendent of the Winchester School District, was named to and accepted the superintendent's position for the Newburyport School District. All have been vying in Manchester Essex to succeed current Superintendent of Schools Marcia O'Neil, who announced last year should be retiring in June, at the end of her third year and first contract.
But, after Friday night's interviews were finished, the School Committee deliberated over the two possible candidates.
"There was a lot of debate," said School Committee Chairwoman Susan Coviello.
And when the dust cleared, the committee decided to go ahead with a site visit to Cozort's district, which should take place some time this week, but not to immediately choose one of the two finalists.
"We have reopened the search for more candidates," Coviello said.
The two finalists touched on a number of themes during their public interviews Friday night.
"It takes time to build relationships," Cozort said of the need for communication.
"You are not given trust," he said. "In terms of enhancing communication, the things I have done (are) I am in the schools, at the games, at the concerts, I am with the staff and children a lot. And I would expect to continue that accessibility. I would expect to be involved in the community."
Asked what attracted him to Manchester Essex, Gwin said, "I would like to be a superintendent in a small district, where I can have a maximum impact.
"I want to be in a district where I can get to know teachers, I can get to know the students," he said. "I can get to know the folks in Manchester and Essex.
"The size is great, it's a good fit for me," he said. "I'm a people person, a relationship building person. I want to get to know people."
Questions soon turned towards how to effectively evaluate the quality of teachers.
"I think the system most schools have in place — of only having three observations to evaluate teachers — is definitely not the way to go," Gwin said. "I would see more regular visits by the principal and department heads."
"When I evaluate a teacher," said Cozort, whose New Hampshire district is a two-town cooperative covering the towns Belmont and Canterbury, "I look for two things: How engaged are the students and the level of questions — how are they getting the students engaged?"
Turning to the potential program cuts to deal with fiscal uncertainty, Cozort said he firmly believes in the need for electives in a well-rounded education.
"One of the reasons Manchester Essex appeals to me — and there are many," Cozort said, "is the availability of it's electives. The feeling I've received from the community is that they want their children well-rounded."
"I'm a believer in a standardized curriculum, at least within the school and aligned with the state curriculum framework," Gwin said. "I'm a believer in MCAS testing. I believe it has helped.
"At the same time, some of the initiatives you have in place, I think, are great, in terms of the School Climate Task Force," he continued. "Personally, I believe social and emotional support in our schools at all levels are important for our kids. The reading and math initiatives are wonderful."
"I see the core standards, for example, as minimum standards — not the maximum standards," Cozort said. "I think that the accomplishment of building trust and raising the stakes is important.
"Your district is a high performing district and takes a lot of pride in that," he noted, "but we can always improve."
"There is no room in public education for complacency — that would be a message I would want to convey to the district," he said. "How do we do better?"
Brendan Connolly can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3447, or gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.
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