Natick Public Schools Names New Interim Principal, Vice Principal

NATICK, MA - Dr. Shelby Marscher will be the interim principal at Lilja Elementary School for the upcoming school year, Superintendent Anna Nolin announced Friday, while Jovanne Buckmire will become its new vice-principal.

“We’re delighted to have Dr. Marscher and Ms. Buckmire join our administrative team at Natick Public Schools,” Nolin said. “Dr. Marscher’s dedication to the Lilja community for the last eight years, serving as assistant to the principal for the past few principals, and her commitment to our students’ success makes her the ideal candidate to fill this role."

She added that Buckmire has been in training with the district's administrative team to advance into a formal principal leadership program for some time.

"We’re eager to see her apply her expertise in service to the Lilja community,” Nolin said.

Marscher has been at Lilja since 2014, serving as the school psychologist and assistant to the principal. She currently provides assessment, counseling, intervention, consultation and collaboration to promote positive behavior and support social-emotional learning needs.

She facilitates meetings for the school’s special education department, data team, instructional support team, Tier II, and consultations to address student concerns. Also, she designs comprehensive positive behavior support plans for struggling students with extreme behaviors and trains staff in behavioral support systems.

Marscher completed her doctoral internship at the Integrated Center for Child Development, a clinical service student practicum at Westwood Lodge Child Adolescent Partial Hospital, and an assessment student practicum at the Brenner Center for Psychological Assessment and Consultation.

She was the school psychology intern at Sharon Heights Elementary School and completed her school psychology student practicums at Sharon High School and Fisher Elementary School in Walpole. Marscher was also previously a behavior specialist in the extended year program for Murphy Elementary School in Dorchester. She started her career at Walker Home and School in Needham in various roles, including as a child care worker.

Marscher earned her bachelor of arts in psychology and sociology from Wesleyan University, a Master of Arts degree in professional psychology, and a doctorate in psychology from William James College’s Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.

Buckmire, a seven-year veteran of NPS, currently teaches second grade at Lilja and previously taught kindergarten at the school. She is the second-grade professional learning community leader for NPS.

Before Natick, she was a first-grade teacher at the Conservatory Lab Charter Public School in Brighton. Buckmire served as childcare head teacher and other roles for Children’s Friend and Family Service in Central Falls, Rhode Island. She started her career as a pre-kindergarten teacher at Boston Renaissance Charter Public School.

Buckmire has a bachelor of science in human development from Wheelock College and a master of education in early childhood and development from Fitchburg State University’s Educator Leadership Institute.