TEWKSBURY – Four finalists for the post of superintendent of Tewksbury Public Schools have been selected to replace former superintendent Chris Malone, who retired earlier this year.
In addition to assistant superintendent Brenda Theriault-Regan, who currently serves as acting superintendent, the other finalists are Brent Conway, assistant superintendent of the Pentucket Regional School District in West Newbury; Darcy Fernandes, superintendent of the Athol-Royalston Regional School District; and Nan Murphy, Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning at Marblehead Public Schools. Conway and Theriault-Regan are residents of Tewksbury.
“I really enjoyed working with the selection committee,” Dorothy Presser, district consultant for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said at Wednesday night’s school committee meeting. “We had … very solid discussions, good discussions and excellent interviews with the candidates. I think the candidates felt welcome at Tewksbury.
Conway has been in his current position since 2018. He previously served as an elementary and middle school principal in Melrose and an elementary vice-principal in Tyngsboro. Prior to that, he taught college for four years.
He holds a master’s degree in educational management and leadership from Fitchburg State University and two bachelor’s degrees, in elementary education and communication, from the University of Rhode Island. He is in a doctoral program at the University of Southern Mississippi, which he hopes to complete in 2024.
Fernandes has served as superintendent at Athol since 2017, coming from the role of assistant superintendent for teaching and learning at Randolph. She worked as a middle school principal in New Bedford from 2008 to 2013 and was acting principal of a middle school in Brockton from 2005 to 2008. She taught middle school social studies from 1994 to 2005.
Fernandes has a master’s degree in educational leadership from Framingham State University and a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education from Elms College and is expected to complete a doctoral program at Lesley University this fall. .
Murphy previously worked for the State Department of K-12 Education and served as Director of School Accountability and Improvement for Lowell Public Schools from 2017-2019. She also worked as an assistant principal at Lowell and taught elementary school in Wilmington.
Murphy holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Gordon College and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and psychology from Trinity College. She is pursuing a School Management and Leadership Certificate from Harvard Business School. Murphy is also a finalist for superintendent at Marlboro Public Schools.
Theriault-Regan has been the Deputy Superintendent of Tewksbury since 2014, before which she was Principal of Tewksbury Memorial Secondary School. Previously, she was an assistant principal at John Ryan Elementary School, where she taught from 2000 to 2009. She also works for the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on multilevel supervision and school development. MCAS math assessment.
Thériault-Regan holds a graduate certificate from American International College, a master’s degree in education from Fitchburg State University, and a bachelor’s degree in human development from Lesley College.
Finalists will conduct site visits and interviews with the school committee at the end of the month, at which time committee members will also visit finalists’ home districts.