NPS Superintendent Search Committee announces 3 finalist candidates [UPDATE: Now 2 candidates]

The Newton School Committee’s Superintendent Search Committee has announced that three candidates have been recommended for further consideration in the search for the next Superintendent of NPS. The Search Committee had interviewed seven candidates selected from an initial screening. Next week, each of the three finalist candidates will visit Newton for an in-person tour, meetings with staff, a virtual community forum, and a public, in-person interview with the School Committee in the evening. Details of the search process are here.

UPDATE: Peter Light has withdrawn his name from consideration. NPS said, “Mr. Light was an outstanding candidate who impressed the search committee during the interview process. We thank Mr. Light for sharing his time with us and wish him well as he continues his position in Acton-Boxborough.”

UPDATES:

• Each candidate’s visit will include an online community forum at 5PM. The public may submit questions for the candidates ahead of time via this form.
• Each candidate will be interviewed by the School Committee at 7PM, and the public is invited to attend. The School Committee interviews will not be live-streamed but will be recorded for viewing by the public after all candidates have been interviewed.
• The public is invited to submit feedback on the candidates using online forms for Dr. Anna Nolin and Thomas Anderson.

The recommended finalist candidates with their current positions, submitted application documents (*redacted), and dates of visits to Newton are:

• Anna Nolin (Superintendent, Natick Public Schools)
  • Self introduction, Resume, Letter of Interest*, Application*
  • Visit: Wednesday, February 15. Community forum at 5PM (log-on link).
• Thomas Anderson (Superintendent, New Bedford Public Schools)
  • Self introduction, Resume, Letter of Interest*, Application*
  • Visit: Thursday, February 16. Community forum at 5PM (log-on link).
• [UPDATE: Mr. Light has withdrawn his name from consideration. ]
  Peter Light (Superintendent, Acton-Boxborough Regional School District)
  • Self introduction, Resume, Letter of Interest*, Application*
  • Visit: Monday, February 13

NPS provided the following short biographies of the candidates:

Mr. Thomas Anderson is the current superintendent of the New Bedford School District where he oversees the operation of 25 schools with an enrollment of 13,000 students, and a $215M budget. Prior to joining New Bedford, he served as the superintendent of the Randolph, MA School District and in Washington D.C. as an Assistant Superintendent. He serves as co-chair of the Urban Superintendents’ Association and as an active member of the legislative committee for the Massachusetts School Superintendents’ Association.

Mr. Peter Light currently serves as the Superintendent of Acton-Boxborough Public Schools, where he has served for approximately five years and an enrollment of 5K students. He is responsible for a 102.9M budget, and collaborated with the community and school leaders to open one of the Commonwealth’s first Triple Net Zero elementary schools. Prior to this role, he served as the Assistant Superintendent of Franklin Public Schools.

Dr. Anna Nolin is the current Superintendent of Natick Public Schools, where she oversees the operations of a school division consisting of approximately 5,300 students and an 83M budget. Prior to the Natick Superintendency, she served as Natick’s Interim Superintendent and as the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. She has received several grants, including 267K to support safe schools and keeps abreast of current educational trends by participating in and teaching courses at the collegiate level.