By Max Bowen-max.bowen@northstarreporter.com
With only a few months remaining, the Superintendent Search Subcommittee met to review the process to find the next North Attleborough School Superintendent.
Ethan Hamilton—who chairs the School Committee and is also on the subcommittee—said that the goal is to have a new superintendent ready to begin on July 1. Though current Superintendent Scott Holcomb will remain until Aug. 26, Hamilton said the contract terms run from June 30 through July 1.
“In an ideal situation we would have more time, this will be a little tight,” said Hamilton, adding that he is confident that the deadline can be met.
At a virtual meeting of the School Committee in March, Holcomb announced that he would be retiring from education on Aug. 26—his birthday—to pursue a career in the private sector.
Holcomb has been the school superintendent since 2017 and has also been assistant superintendent and principal of the town’s high school. Prior to his time in North Attleborough he was adjunct professor at Roger William University and assistant principal of the Seekonk High School, and taught at the Hopkinton and Bellingham high schools.
The subcommittee has retained the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) to handle the search. On Tuesday, April 20, the subcommittee held a virtual meeting with MASC Executive Director Glenn Koocher and Field Director James Hardy. They will post the job opening on the MASC web site and advertise it with local media as well. Koocher said that though the MASC has done 110 superintendent searches, each one stands out.
“If you’ve seen one search, you’ve seen one search,” said Koocher.
Hardy said that there is no “one size fits all search,” and a lot will need to be done concurrently due to the short timeline. A brief survey will be developed for students, faculty, and teachers to learn what they want in the next superintendent. Once the data is in focus groups will be formed for different demographic groups to work on qualities and criteria.
“We will help you develop the 3-4 qualities you’re looking for in the candidates,” said Hardy. “It’s up to you to decide what is most important to you.”
The next step will be to form a Screening Committee, which Hamilton said will be between nine and 13 members and include members of the Search Subcommittee, faculty, and residents. They will review the applications and interview candidates to present a list of three to five finalists to the School Committee, which will make the appointment.
