Marblehead Principal Dan Bauer Picked As New Danvers Superintendent

DANVERS, MA — Marblehead High Principal Dan Bauer was chosen for the top leadership position in Danvers Public Schools in a unanimous vote of the School Committee Monday night.

Bauer was chosen out of three finalists with School Committee members citing his ability to build connections and the outpouring of positive references and feedback on his candidacy as the difference between what was repeatedly referred to as three very strong candidates.

Following three days of public interviews, and more than a year since former Superintendent Lisa Dana said she was taking a medical leave that became a retirement in August, the School Committee picked Bauer over Medford Public School Assistant Superintendent Peter Cushing and Scarborough (Maine) Superintendent Geoff Bruno.

Mary Wermers has served as an Acting Superintendent of Schools for the past 12 months.

Bauer informed the School Committee that he accepted the position immediately upon its offer with contract negotiations pending.

"The community wanted someone who was going to rebuild relationships," said School Committee member Robin Doherty shortly before making the motion to select Bauer. "That was the main piece that came out of (the public input). Until relationships are rebuilt you cannot move the district any more forward.

"Right now we need someone who is going to re-establish trust in the community," she added.

Several committee members said the potential to build those relationships and trust came through with Bauer.

"An absolutely impressive individual," School Committee member Gabe Lopes said. "I did not check his references. But I didn't have to. Just the influx of unsolicited references, the local support, from friends of friends, everyone somehow seems to know Dan Bauer.

"His immediate presence. His ability to interact with every single person in the room without much effort was incredibly impressive to me. ... He is someone who I can see can be a community builder. Someone who can take the good that we have and bring it forth into the community. It is something that seems natural and he oozes that confidence.

"He is someone the community can put their arms around."

Bauer has been the Principal at Marblehead High School since 2016. He previously served as Beverly High Assistant Principal for 10 years and taught social studies at Masconomet for five years.

"He left me with the impression that he is a doer," School Committee Chair Eric Crane said of Bauer. "He comes up with ideas and gets them done by building teams and people working together. I suspect a straight shooter who is going to tell people how he thinks things are. But I mean that in a good way.

"He will be transparent. And honest. And direct. He knows the North Shore certainly. I think because of that he would bring to the district a certain confidence from people who have been around for a while.

"He is a known quantity and very well thought of in Marblehead — no question."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)