Schools

Boston Educator Expected To Be Named Greenwich Schools Chief

The Associate Superintendent for Academic Excellence for Archdiocese of Boston meeting Greenwich officials on eve of special board of education meeting.

 

The associate superintendent for academic excellence at the Archdiocese of Boston in Braintree, Mass., William McKersie, is expected to be hired as the new superintendent on Wednesday, Greenwich Patch has learned.

McKersie apparently is making the rounds of meeting town officials Tuesday including First Selectman Peter Tesei. Tesei’s office confirmed the visit Tuesday. The Greenwich Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for 8 a.m. April 25 to vote on the appointment and contract at board headquarters in the , 290 Greenwich Ave. A public reception will follow at 8:30 a.m., along with a meeting with school teachers at 3:30 p.m. at , and a community reception at at 6 p.m.

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The appointment will be the culmination of a search that was begun in November 2011 when the school board hired the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA), with the goal of naming a superintendent this spring.

Earlier this month McKersie withdrew his application for the Barrington, RI superintendency where he was selected as one of four finalists, . On April 6, he told officials there that he was a finalist for superintendent positions in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

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As associate superintendent for academic excellence at the Archdiocese of Boston since 2008, McKersie is responsible for providing strategic direction and service to promote academic excellence for 42,000 students enrolled in the archdiocese’s 122 elementary and secondary schools, according to McKersie’s resume. (Please see attached PDF.)

According to his resume profile, McKersie describes himself as a “senior educational leader skilled in promoting excellence in elementary and secondary education to ensure success for all students. Known for leading collaboration among school boards and committees, teacher unions, teachers, principals, community leaders, business leaders, parents and students in urban and suburban communities.”

Strategic planning and students’ academic performance has been at the forefront for Greenwich Public Schools with district officials grappling with below average test scores for some students. Officials, including Freund, have attributed in part, the lower scores to an increasing population of students where English is not the primary home language. Officials have acknowledged the need to focus more on math and science skills as well as language arts.

McKersie is a 1981 cum laude graduate of Tufts University where he earned bachelor’s degree in social psychology. He received his master’s in education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 1986, and his Ph.D from the University of Chicago in 1997.

Before joining the Boston Archdiocese, McKersie was the associate dean for development and alumni relations at Harvard University for four years. He also has worked for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Schools in Ohio and The Cleveland Foundation.

The appointment of McKersie should be the final chapter in what has been a rocky road for Greenwich Public Schools. Former in May 2011 as the Board of Education was poised to extend his contract. Freund attributed his abrupt decision to a fractured, contentious relationship with board members Marianna Ponns-Cohen and Peter Scherr, prompting a public outcry from parents, students and teachers. Ponns-Cohen was not reelected in November. Scherr remains a board member.

Former superintendent Roger as interim Greenwich schools superintendent in August 2011. Lulow receives the same compensation package as Freund - $230,000 a year, as well as a car allowance.

McKersie is married and has a daughter and two sons.

*Editor's note: this story has been updated to include a comment from Greenwich Public Schools; and to correct the time of the community reception at Hamilton Avenue School.


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