FINALISTS SELECTED IN SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH

Superintendent Finalist Interviews can be seen On Demand at Stonehamtv.org and on the education channel beginning on March 21st.

The Stoneham TV Education channel is:

• Comcast channel 8
• Verizon channel 35
• RCN/Astound channel 13

SPS Superintendent Finalists
 

**Please Note:  Feedback surveys are due to be submitted by Sunday, March 23rd at 8:00pm.**

Friday, March 14, 2025

The School Committee is pleased to announce three finalists for the position of Superintendent of Stoneham Public Schools to commence July 1, 2025. 

The three finalists in alphabetical order by last name are:

• Peter Cushing, Assistant Superintendent for Enrichment and Innovation, Medford
• Kristin DeFrancisco, Assistant Superintendent, Groton-Dunstable Regional School District
• Mark McLaughlin, Interim Superintendent, South Hadley

As you may recall, we put a general callout to members of the Stoneham community to invite them to serve on a screening committee in January. Those who were interested were asked to submit an application. Applicants represented a range of experiences and backgrounds. While the School Committee has the sole authority to appoint the superintendent, the input from a screening committee made up of various and diverse members from the community was critical to ensure a robust and thorough search process. 

A screening committee, made up of parents, community stakeholders, residents, district representatives, and both of us as liaisons to the School Committee, met on several occasions from February 11, 2025 through March 11, 2025 to review applications, to interview candidates, and to ultimately recommend the aforementioned candidates to the School Committee for further consideration. 

On behalf of the School Committee, we would like to thank the 14 members of the screening committee for the many hours they devoted to the screening process. 

Nicole Nial, Co-Chair, Betty Chu Pryor, Co-Chair, Matt Grafton, Maribeth Kelley, Jessi Killilea, Mike Memmolo, Jamie O’Connor, Michelle Perry, Leia Secor ,George Seibold, Justin St. Phillips, Ryan Tollefson, Danielle Tucker, Ana Veras

Our conversations were rich, insightful, thought-provoking, and represented a diverse range of perspectives. It was a pleasure to work with this group of dedicated individuals and we are excited for you to meet and engage with the three finalists next week.

Respectfully submitted,

Nicole Nial & Betty Chu Pryor, Co-Chairs, Superintendent Screening Committee

The Schedule for meet & greets and interviews:

• Peter Cushing will be visiting Stoneham on Tuesday, March 18th. 
  -Members of the STAFF are invited to attend the Meet & Greet scheduled for 3:00pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.
  -Members of the COMMUNITY are invited to attend the Meet & Greet scheduled for 4:00 pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.
   
• Mark McLaughlin will be visiting Stoneham on Wednesday, March 19th.  
  -Members of the STAFF are invited to attend the Meet & Greet scheduled for 3:00pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.
  -Members of the COMMUNITY are invited to attend the Meet & Greet scheduled for 4:00 pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.
   
• Kristin DeFrancisco will be visiting Stoneham on Thursday, March 20th. 
  -Members of the STAFF are invited to attend the Meet & Greet scheduled for 3:00pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.
  -Members of the COMMUNITY are invited to attend the Meet & Greet scheduled for 4:00 pm in the Middle School Cafeteria.

The School Committee will be conducting public interviews starting at 5:00 pm on each day. The interviews will be recorded and then aired or available for streaming on Stoneham TV beginning Friday, March 21st.

The School Committee will hold a special meeting on Monday, March 24th to deliberate and make a final decision.