Search Committee Named to Screen Applicants for Superintendent

[Editor's note: The following was submitted by the Superintendent Search Committee.]

Members of Malden's Superintendent's Search and Advisory Committees are meeting this week to review applications for the position which is being vacated by Sidney Smith, who has announced his retirement effective July 1.
 
Members of the Search and Advisory Committees, appointed by Mayor Richard C. Howard, are working with a search consultant from Massachusetts Association of School Committees, to develop interview guidelines and questions, and to set a timetable for interviews. All meetings of the Search and Advisory Committees are closed to the public. Only the names of finalists for the position will be made public once they are referred to the Malden School Committee to continue the interview process. The Search Committee members are hoping to make their recommendation on finalists before the end of the month. Only the members of the Search Committee, not the Advisory Committee, have a vote on which candidates should make the finalist stage.
 
This is the third time that Mayor Howard has convinced the Malden School Committee to use the Search/Advisory Committee format to screen applicants for this top position in the School Department. This same format was followed in the selection process for both the current Superintendent Smith and his predecessor Supt. Joan Connolly. Smith has served as superintendent for the past four years, while Connolly served the district for seven years.
 
The upcoming vacancy has been advertised online and in the print media. The deadline for the submission of applications was Friday, April 22.
 
There are 11 members of the Search Committee. They are:
 
Stephen M. Wishoski, Executive Director of the Malden Redevelopment Authority, who for the third consecutive time is serving as Chairperson of the Search Committee. His three children attended the Malden Public Schools. A lifelong resident of Malden and graduate of Malden Catholic High School, Wishoski holds a bachelor's degree in urban planning from Rutgers University and a master's in business administration from Suffolk University.
 
Margaret Briatico, a fifth grade teacher at the Ferryway School, where she serves in several school-wide committees including its leadership team, teacher assistance team, school council, expanded learning time, MCAS analysis team and school technology team. She has also been a new teacher mentor for the past 10 years and coordinator of the school's summer MCAS program. Briatico is a Malden High School graduate who holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Lesley College and a master's degree in elementary education from Wheelock College.
 
Judith Bucci, is a City Councillor serving Ward Eight for the past four years, and a former member of the Malden School Committee for six years. A lifelong resident of Malden, Bucci is a graduate of Malden High School.  Her two sons also graduated from Malden High School. She is active in local affairs including her involvement with Zonta International, and her former work as a public school volunteer and a PTO officer. She attended Northeastern University, Bunker Hill Community College and Salem State College. She has worked for the past 12 years as the radiology manager of off-site imaging services for Winchester Hospital.
 
Beverly Dinkins, co-founder and co-owner of On The Road Again, a pre-school based in Malden since 1998, she also boasts extensive experience in the public health field, maintaining her registration as a nurse. She has been involved in a number of community groups and is a former volunteer in the Malden Public Schools. Ms. Dinkins holds both a bachelor of arts in community planning and management and a master's degree in business administration from University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her two children are Malden High School graduates.

Mai T. Du, owner of Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy in Malden, she is the parent of a second-grader in the Malden Public Schools. Du is also the franchise owner/certified instructor of the Kumon Math and Reading Center of Medford. She was a former Director of Youth Programs/Volunteer Resources for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay for more than 8 years and served as a program assistant for the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Du also served on the Massachusetts Action Planning Team for Youth led by the United Way in 2008. She holds both a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Tufts University. Additionally, Du is co-founder of Youth A.C.T (Activism, Coalition, Trust), a statewide youth organization based in Malden, and is active in many nonprofit organizations including the Malden YWCA.
 
Marguerite Gonsalves, President of the Malden Education Association, the local teachers union.  A native of Malden, Ms. Gonsalves has her bachelor's degree in English and education and a master’s degree in education/administration. A teacher in the Malden Public Schools since 1970, she has taught English, journalism, media and GED preparation, grades 7 through adult education. She has mentored 37 student teachers and interns. She was appointed to represent the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) to serve on the DESE's professional development committee and Congressional Contact Team. On the national level, she serves on the National Education Association's Resolutions Committee. In 2007, she was recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the "Unsung Heroine Award" for her commitment to teaching and the students in Malden.

George Holland, retired Superintendent of Malden Public Schools having served in that capacity for 16 years until 2000. He holds a doctorate degree in physics from Yale University, and both a master's degree in physics and a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Boston College.  Dr. Holland has a long association with the Malden Public Schools having served as a chemistry and physics teacher, the chairperson of the mathematics department, and as  the assistant superintendent of schools before his appointment as Superintendent. He has been active in many community groups and today serves as president of the newly-formed Malden High School Alumni Association and continues to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Malden Public Library. After his retirement, he taught courses at Malden Catholic High School, Pope John XXIII High School, Bunker Hill Community College and Wentworth Institute.
 
Nancy Kassabian, Assistant Superintendent of the Malden Public Schools since 2006, is an adjunct and teacher supervisor at Tufts University Graduate School of Education. A longtime employee of the Malden Public Schools, she had previously served as K-12 Director of Foreign Languages, World Cultures and International Relations. She has a leadership role in many committees including the Curriculum Leadership Team, the District Leadership Team, the Evaluation Task Force and is Principal Developer and Director of the New Teacher Induction Program.   She holds a master's in education degree from Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree in French, Spanish and Education from Simmons College. Ms. Kassabian has been a presenter at  district, state, national and international conferences speaking on a wide range of educational topics including "Diversity and All its Dimensions" and "Using Video and Technology to Motivate Students."
 
Karen Steele, Director of Partnership for Community Schools in Malden since 2003, previously served as marketing communications manager for several high technology/software companies. A graduate of Merrimack College, she is a mentor to other 21st Century Community Learning Centers districts for the DESE and was elected this year to be the Massachusetts Afterschool Ambassador for the Afterschool Alliance. This position includes promoting and advocating on behalf of all afterschool programs in the state. Steele is involved in several community groups and is a board member of the Independence Route Day Care/Kids Stop Program in Malden
 
Lisa L. Thayer is a guardian and foster parent of a special education student at Malden High as well as a guardian of a special education student at Residential Special Ed School in Swansea.  A Malden resident who holds a degree in business administration, she has served on the Parent Advisory Council at SEEM Collaborative (Special Education School), as an assistant coach of the Special Olympics and as a volunteer at Winchester Hospital. She is employed as manager of commuter revenue for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad.
 
Stephen Winslow, a member of the Malden School Committee representing Ward Six, Winslow is an attorney for an environmental law practice. He works as senior project manager for Gloucester's Get Fit partnership funded by Department of Public Health. The former senior planner/project manager for the City of Somerville's Community Path, he is the founder of Malden's Bike to the Sea, Inc. Winslow, who holds a juris doctorate degree from the University of California, Davis and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of California Berkeley.  He previously served as site coordinator for the TeleCom City Project (now River’s Edge) in Malden, Medford and Everett and had also worked at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in Boston where he handled various legal, policy and technical matters.  
 
There are four members of the Advisory Committee. They are:
 
Deborah A. Burke, Assistant Executive Director of the MRA, who has worked for the past 15 years as the Economic Development liaison between the MRA and the Office of Mayor Howard. She holds both a master's degree in public administration and a bachelor's degree in communications from Suffolk University. She is a board member of the Foundation for the Advancement of Malden Education.
 
Eleanor Cushing, Director of Human Resources for the City of Malden, where she is responsible for overall implementation and management of all employee services and benefits. She previously worked for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue as a training director and as executive assistant to the Vice President of Human Resources for Clean Harbors Inc., a national environmental corporation. A lifelong resident of Malden, Cushing is a former Ward One City Councillor who remains active in local organizations including her longtime service raising funds annually for the Malden Public Library through its Triple Threat Trivia Game.
 
Diane Lind, an educator for many years, is currently a part-time lecturer at Tufts University Graduate Department of Education where she previously worked as a consultant and also university supervisor placing pre-service teachers in their practicum sites including the Malden Public Schools. Lind, who holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Tufts University and a master's degree in teaching from Salem State College, also has both teaching and administrative experience on the high school level having served as an English teacher and later the Chair of the English Department at Wakefield Public Schools. A graduate of Malden High School, she is a current member of the Malden High School Alumni Association, a board member of the Foundation for the Advancement of Malden Education,  member of the Malden High School Annual Homecoming Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Davenport Memorial Home.
 
Heather Thompson, student representative to the Malden School Committee, will graduate from Malden High School this year and has been accepted to attend Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for nursing in the fall. Vice president of her class and captain of the school's Varsity Cheerleading Team, she has been active in many school extracurricular activities including the bullying subcommittee, the leadership council, the deaf awareness club, the American Red Cross Club, the prom committee, and participated in the school's Junior Varieties Show.