Waltham Superintendent Finalist Public Interviews To Begin

WALTHAM, MA — A round of public interviews begin Thursday night for the four men vying to lead Waltham Public Schools. The post is being filled by former HR director George Frost, until a new superintendent is chosen this year.

Frank Hackett, Brad Morgan, Sergio Paez and Brian Reagan will come before the school committee for their public interviews. Paez and Reagan will have theirs Thursday. The other two will be Sunday. None of the candidates work in the district. All have previously served as superintendents, or in one case assistant superintendent, and one was a Waltham principal for five years, another grew up in Waltham.

The new superintendent would oversee a budget of about $92 million across 10 schools and a pre school and some 5,692 students, 51 percent of which English is not their first language. Of the student population 49.5 percent are considered low Income, and 15.6 percent are considered needing special education.

The next superintendent would be expected to usher in and follow through the master plan for the new high school building project, address diversity needs and education gaps in the district.

The search committee is made up of 15 people, including three school committee members, two administrators, three faculty members, three parents, two community members, and representative of the special education team and of an English language learner. They've spent months combing through the more than two dozen applications.

The interviews begin at 6:30 p.m. in the James Cannon Lecture hall at the high school. Two will be held Thursday, and two will be held Saturday. Both will be pre-recorded and then aired on the cable access channel later.

Who's who:

Hackett has spent the past five years as superintendent of Braintree Public Schools. Before that he was the superintendent at Pembroke Public Schools for eight years. According to his resume he's been superintendent for five school districts and assistant superintendent for one. He has his Doctorate of Education from the University of Maine, where he also got his certificate of advanced study in educational leadership, his masters and his bachelors. His resume stresses his collaborative leadership style in academic settings.

Morgan, of Chelmsford, has been the Superintendent of Schools for the North Middlesex Regional School District in Pepperell for the past year and a half, while also consulting as a trainer for Teachers 21 in Newton. Before that he was a consultant for the state association of vocational administrators and association of technical education for eight years, while also working as principal at Essex Technical High School and North Shore Technical High School. And from 2016 to 2018 he worked as an adjunct professor at Endicott College in Beverly. From 2010 to 2015, he was the principal at Waltham's McDevitt Middle School. He has a certificate o of advanced graduate studies from Northeastern University, a masters from UMass Lowell, where he also studied for his undergraduate degree in history. His resume stresses a desire "to promote a culture where the expectation and practice is grounded by the belief that all students will succeed."

Paez, of Leominster, has worked as the director of Equity, Empowerment and Excellence for English Learners in Central Falls, RI, for the past year and a half. Before that, he worked for a year and a half in Leominster Public Schools' Human Resources office. In 2013, he took a job as superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools in an effort to transform it - it was one of the worst performing districts in the state. After two and a half years the state took it over, but not before he was able to make a dent in the issues there. He wrote about it in his book. Paez has his Masters' from Harvard and his Ed.D in School Administration from Boston College and got his undergraduate degree from Fitchburg State. His resume highlights several works he's published on urban education, teaching English learners, and professional development.

Reagan has been the assistant superintendent for Wilmington Public Schools for the past year and a half. Before that he was principal for seven years at Hudson High School and for five years at Shrewsbury High School. He has his doctorate from Northeastern University and his masters from UMass Boston. He got his bachelors in music from Boston University. His resume stresses an ability to build relationships, school climate and community investment. He grew up in Waltham.

The Superintendent Search Committee narrowed 25 candidates to four finalists last week.

Previously:

• Search For Superintendent Of Waltham Schools Is On
• George Frost To Be Waltham Schools Interim Superintendent
• Waltham Superintendent Echelson Resigns, Takes Job At ...
• Waltham Seeks Superintendent Search Committee Members
• 19 People Applied To Be Superintendent of Waltham Schools
• Superintendent Search Hits Snag In Waltham
• Search For Superintendent Of Waltham Schools Is On Again

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).