What's New At Medford Public Schools This Year?

MEDFORD, MA — It's the most wonderful time of the year — for parents at least. Kids may want a little extra time for summer. As we inch closer to the upcoming school year, there's some key changes to MPS to keep in mind, from new teachers and administrators to the return of the Greater Boston League.

Meet Your New Assistant Superintendent

It was a little more than a decade ago when Peter Cushing, then 30 years old, decided that he wanted to move into a school leadership position after beginning his education career as a teacher in Lynn and Arlington. The recently named assistant superintendent of schools for Medford Public Schools applied to any opening he could find and one day got a call back about interviewing for the vice principal role at Narragansett Regional High School.

"They asked me if I knew where it was and I said: 'Absolutely,'" he recalled. "Then I hung up the phone and started wondering why I had applied to a school in Rhode Island."

Only Narragansett Regional is in Baldwinville — a small village of about 2,000 residents 65 miles northwest of Boston. Cushing moved to Fitchburg, then a bit farther east down Route 2 to Ayer, but stayed in North Central Massachusetts for a decade at Narragansett as a vice principal and then principal. This year, he served as principal at Bartlett High School.

Now, Cushing is hoping to take his 20 years of educational experience and lessons learned from managing the challenges of small, rural school districts to improve Medford 's education experience for students and faculty.

Read more about Cushing here.

No More Middle School Selection, But Sports Added

This is the first year parents will not be able to choose a middle school for their student. Data showed the two middle schools – McGlynn Middle School and Andrews Middle School – were racially and economically unbalanced, administrators said. Students were placed through a computer-generated lottery.

The city is introducing middle school travel sports as part of an initiative aimed at creating a stronger bond between the high school varsity and youth levels, and convincing more students to the attend the public high school. The $75,000 trial program will field teams in five sports over the fall, winter and spring seasons that will compete against schools in the reconfigured Greater Boston League.

Read more about middle school sports here.

48 New Teachers, Six New Administrators

Medford has 48 new teachers participating in new teacher orientation this week. The district also has six new administrators, including Dr. Peter Cushing, who will handle middle and high school issues. Four of the new administrators were previously teachers in the Medford Public Schools.

MPS is in the process of interviewing for director of the Curtis Tufts High School. The previous director, Brian Twomey, took a position in Andover.

Greater Boston League Returns

After two years in the Northeastern Conference, Medford joins the reformed Greater Boston League. The league includes Malden, Everett and Somerville. Revere, which also voted to join the GBL, will remain in the NEC for football for the next two years as part of the deal.

The Mustangs' football season begins Friday, Sept. 6 at Belmont with new head coach John Curley.

See Also: Medford 2019-20 School Calendar: First Day Of School, Days Off