Five Finalists Remain in Assistant Superintendent Search

Five finalists remain in the search for Arlington’s next assistant superintendent, the district’s human resource officer, Robert Spiegel, told the School Committee on Thursday.

The district’s K-12 director of history and social sciences, an elementary school principal in Wellesley, high school principals in Belmont and Maynard and an assistant superintendent in Norwood are all being considered, he said.

Scroll down to see the finalists’ bios.

The finalists are scheduled to meet with district and school administrators, teachers, parents and School Committee members during the last week of April, according to Spiegel. The district would like to be able to present one finalist to School Committee members at their first regularly-scheduled meeting in May, on Thursday, May 10, and have the new hire start July 1, he said.

The position is currently being filled by Wallis Raemer on an interim basis.

told Spiegel to go for the best of the best.

“What we want is an excellent, excellent, excellent academic leader. Period,” he said.

The five finalists:

Kerry Dunne

Experience: Dunne is currently the K-12 director of history and social sciences for the Arlington Public Schools. She is also the Teaching American History Grant Program Manager. She previously was a history and social studies department head and history teacher at Framingham High School. She also was an adjunct instructor at Brandeis University and Framingham State University.

Education: Dunne will receive a doctorate from Boston College in May. She has a master’s of education from UMass Amherst and a bachelor’s in history and political science from Marquette University.

Sheryl Boris-Schacter

Experience: Boris-Schacter is currently the principal of the Hunnewell Elementary School in Wellesley. Prior to this, she was a professor of education at Lesley University. At Lesley, she was the founding program director for curriculum and instruction, the founding program director for educational leadership and the founding interim director of the Division of Teaching and Leadership. Before Lesley, she was a teacher and administrator in public schools districts in Massachusetts and New York.

Education: Boris-Schacter has a doctorate of education and a master’s of education in administration from Harvard University. She also has a master’s of education in reading from Boston College and a bachelor’s in English and elementary education from Hofstra University.

Michael Harvey

Experience: Harvey is currently the principal at Belmont High School. Previously to this, he was the director of social studies for the Belmont Public Schools. He was the assistant principal for the humanities in the Triton Regional School District and an English and social studies teacher at Ipswich High School, as well as a seventh-grade language arts teacher for the Derry, N.H., cooperative school district.

Education: Harvey has a doctorate in education from UMass Lowell. He also has a master’s in history from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in English and history from Amherst College.

Laura Chesson

Experience: Chesson is currently the principal of Maynard High School. Prior to this, she was the assistant principal at Leominster High School, a summer principal at the Boston Arts Academy, the assessment coordinator at the Boston Arts Academy, a program director at the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston and a math teacher in Hudson and in New Mexico. She also worked for IBM for several years before becoming an educator.

Education: Chesson has a doctorate in school leadership and a master’s in school administration from UMass Lowell. She also has a bachelor’s in computer science from Alfred University.

Alexander Wyeth

Experience: Wyeth is currently the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Norwood Public Schools. He previously was the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Waltham Public Schools and the director of curriculum and instruction for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District. Prior, he was a dean of students for schools districts in Amherst, N.H., and Wilmington, Del. He has also taught English in schools in New Jersey and Scotland.

Education: Wyeth has a doctorate in administration, planning and social policy with a concentration in elementary and secondary education from Harvard University. He also has a master’s in English from Villanova University and a bachelor’s in English and philosophy from Vanderbilt University.