Meet Veterans Middle School's Next Principal

Meet Matthew J. Fox, the man who will be taking over when current principal Libby Moore leaves her post at the end of the school year.

Name: Matthew Fox

Age: 39

Educational Background: Fox earned a bachelor's degree from Washington State University and a masters in education from Salem State University.

Background: Although Fox has lived on the North Shore for the last 13 years, he grew up in Arizona.

Professional Experience: Fox spent his first two years as a teacher at a middle school in Cortez, Colo., where he taught social studies. Fox later left that position and spent five years teaching the same subject at North Reading High School. While teaching at North Reading High School, Fox earned his master's degree and later accepted his first administrative position at Georgtown Middle High School in Georgetown, Mass. After serving as the interim principal of Pembroke Elementary School, Fox left for Miles River Middle School in South Hamilton, where he served as principal. For the last two years, Fox has been principal of both Miles River and Hamilton Wenham Regional High School.

Notable accomplishment during his tenure in Hamilton-Wenham : "I think that as a staff and as a campus leadership team we've come a long way in terms of really thinking of a student's experience as lasting from grades 6 through 12 and not as two separate schools," Fox said. "We focus on articulating the curriculum from grade 6 to grade 12."

What attracted you to Marblehead? Was it the people in the community, the school system or the town as a whole. "I'll say all three. Marblehead has an outstanding reputation for excellence and openings in a district like Marblehead don't come along very often," Fox said.

Immediate Goals for Veterans Middle School: "It is too early to list any specific goals. Right now I am focusing on getting to know the building, the staff and the students," Fox said.

What drew you to seek a career in education? "I've always been involved in education. There are many educators in my family, my father taught college and both of my uncles are teachers. It runs in my family," Fox said.