Danvers Superintendent Awarded 2-Year Contract Extension

DANVERS, MA — Dan Bauer came to Danvers Public Schools as district superintendent from Marblehead High School at a time when rebuilding trust and a sense of belonging within the district was a priority.

Two years later, Bauer allows that those efforts — while showing outward signs of success — are still a "work-in-progress," but told Patch that he is looking forward to continuing that work after accepting a two-year contract extension offer this week.

The offer was presented at Monday's School Committee meeting following a highly favorable review of Bauer, with School Committee members citing his work on special education, community outreach and rebuilding a sense of pride in Danvers Public Schools.

"We have a great staff and a supportive group of families and community," he told Patch on Wednesday. "We still need to push and raise expectations. This is all happening as we speak and is in progress. When you are in the middle of the season, it's hard sometimes to reflect on everything that is happening."

Bauer took over at a divisive time for the district in 2023 in the wake of a widely publicized hockey hazing scandal as well as several incidents of hate and bias within the school and community in the months leading up to his appointment.

He was soon commended for the way he helped navigate the schools toward becoming a more inclusive and tolerant place, as well as for his communication skills, community engagement and his role in the successful negotiation of a new teachers' union contract while three other North Shore districts endured bitter work stoppages.

"It was a real collaborative effort and showed the professional staff that we have," Bauer said of the successful bargaining. "Everyone came to the table to get it done. We know in negotiations that not everybody is going to get what they want. But I can't say enough about how professional it was. It was always a good tenor.

"I felt really good about that because, ultimately, I want all of our teachers and staff to get what they need. But also because we were able to open schools and focus on why we're here without having any of the issues that other districts had."

Bauer credited a focus on social-emotional learning and the creation of the community block program at the high school for helping foster an improved sense of belonging for more students.

"We want to make sure people feel comfortable and that people feel supported," he said.

He has also worked to improve transparency and communication amid complaints that district leaders used confidentiality concerns to conceal information about previous incidents as well as the repercussions of them.

"We have to make student privacy a priority," he said. "But we also have to address things when they happen, and they shouldn't be, and call it what it is."

The district conducted an audit into how it handles bullying and harassment complaints in an effort to make sure they are uniformly investigated and resolved across the schools.

There was also an audit of student services as the district seeks to keep more students and families from seeking out-of-district special needs services.

"We have a whole new administrative team working on student services," he said. "We have made progress. It's certainly not where it needs to be. But I am proud of the team with the work they have put on that.

"It is important not only because of the cost of out-of-district tuition. But we want to provide families with the ability to stay within their own district whenever possible."

Another area of progress Bauer cited was in transportation, where he said the hiring of a transportation coordinator has allowed savings through making routes more efficient and identifying areas of consolidation.

Bauer said he accepted the extension offer on the spot at Monday's School Committee meeting with no additional negotiations.

"It's about stability," he said. "That's the most important thing in my life right now and I am honored and looking forward to continuing the work."

More on Patch:

• Danvers Superintendent Dan Bauer Gets High Marks In First Year
• Danvers Names New Assistant Schools Superintendent
• Danvers School Committee Approves 3.8 Percent Budget Increase For 2026

(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.)