Andover Public Schools Superintendent Finalist Candidates Announcement

Press release from Andover Public Schools:

March 25, 2021

Dear Andover Families and Colleagues,

"I am writing with exciting news in the search for Andover’s next Superintendent of Schools, including announcement of finalist candidates and next steps for further community participation in the process.

Over the past several weeks, the preliminary superintendent screening committee met to review applications and interview candidates. We were aided by the executive search firm Ray and Associates who was hired by the district to spearhead a national recruiting effort. The screening committee was presented with 10 highly qualified candidates to study intensively. We reviewed both written and video materials from each candidate and ultimately conducted full interviews of 5 candidates.

I am pleased to announce with full confidence and enthusiasm that the screening committee has recommended two finalist candidates for further consideration by the Andover community and school committee. Each of these candidates rose to the top and represent the innovation and forward-thinking progress that will guide our district into its next chapter.

The candidates, listed in alphabetical order, are:

Dr. Magda Parvey is currently Chief Academic Officer of Middletown Public Schools in Middletown, Connecticut. Prior to that, Dr. Parvey served as the Interim Superintendent of City School District of New Rochelle, New York; Chief Academic Officer in New Rochelle; and Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services in North Carolina’s Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District. As a lifelong educator with a career spanning over 25 years, she has served in additional leadership positions as a principal, assistant principal and teacher.

Please also view Dr. Parvey’s biography and resume.

Dr. Stephen Zadravec is currently Superintendent of Portsmouth School Department in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Prior to that, Dr. Zadravec was an Assistant Superintendent in School Administrative Unit 39; and a middle school math teacher and curriculum coordinator at Amherst Middle School in Amherst, New Hampshire. As a lifelong educator with a career spanning over 30 years, he has served in additional leadership positions as an interim principal.

Please also view Dr. Zadravec’s biography and resume.

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed to the search process and provided insight that helped us identify these exceptional candidates. The screening committee kept the guiding principles developed from the community-wide surveys and focus group meetings at the core of our work together to put forward a superintendent that is strongly committed to a student first philosophy, community involvement and a forward-thinking lens in decisions. Our superintendent will model high standards of performance to guide a vision of excellence in education here in Andover. I also want to thank the members of the search committee who are a representative sample of the many stakeholders that work closely with a superintendent and who volunteered their late evenings and weekend time toward a common purpose.

In the coming weeks, the finalist candidates will answer questions and share their individual strengths in a televised forum, visit Andover to meet members of our school and town community, and be interviewed publicly by the school committee. The specific schedule is under development for these events, and more information is forthcoming from our human resources department.

We encourage all stakeholders to share your input once the candidates have an initial opportunity to introduce themselves to Andover. An online feedback form will be made available for that purpose. This critical feedback will help our school committee to make their final determination in the coming weeks.

The pandemic has amplified the critical role that education plays in our society and we certainly hope that you will get involved in the next phase of the process. Thank you in advance for your consideration."

Sincerely,

Ann

Ann McNamee
Chair, Superintendent Preliminary Screening Committee
6th Grade Teacher/Team Leader, Doherty Middle School

This press release was produced by the Andover Public Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.