Beverly School Committee Names 3 Superintendent Finalists

BEVERLY, MA — The Beverly School Committee voted to accept three superintendent finalists for in-person visits to the district and interviews in two weeks with a vote on a new superintendent expected on April 17.

The three finalists are Medford Assistant Superintendent Peter Cushing, Melrose Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Turner and Newburyport Superintendent Sean Gallagher.

Cushing has been the assistant superintendent in Medford since 2019 and previously served as the principal at Bartlett High School in Webster and the vice principal at Narragansett High School in Templeton.

Cushing began his education career as a history teacher in Lynn and Arlington and holds degrees from St. Anselm and Boston College.

Turner has been the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in Melrose since 2022 after serving as the principal at the Diamond Middle School in Lexington from 2016 to 2022, and assistant principal of the Clark Middle School in Lexington from 2010 to 2016.

She was previously a special education teacher in Hamilton, an English teacher in North Reading and a special education teacher and humanities teacher at Wamsutta Middle School. She holds degrees from Stonehill College, Simmons College and Northeastern University.

Sean Gallagher has been the superintendent of Newburyport Public Schools since 2018 and previously served as assistant superintendent of Wilmington Public Schools from 2016 to 2018 and Beverly High School principal from 2006 to 2016.

He was also a special education teacher in Lynn, health teacher in Everett and was the athletic director and Dean of Students at Salem High School from 2002 to 2005. Gallagher had degrees from Salem State University and Endicott College, and graduated from the Lowell Police Academy.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)