No New Principal For High School, Yet: Waltham Superintendent

WALTHAM, MA — Superintendent Drew Echelson of Waltham Public Schools will not be choosing a new principal for the high school, after all, he said in a letter home to the school community.

"[N]one of the three candidates were ready, at this specific moment in time, to lead through the complex work ahead," said Echelson, who said because of that, and the fact he is leaving in a couple of months, he'll be asking the next Superintendent to make a decision -either on the three candidates or new ones that pop up. In the meantime, he said, he'd come up with a plan for an interim head of school.

"[W]hich will also provide time and opportunity for the three finalists and other candidates to learn, grow, and further engage in the core work associated with a high school principal," he said.

It was not immediately clear if that meant Deputy Superintendent Paul Maiorano would continue as interim principal or return to his job as deputy superintendent as earlier planned.

The new principal was slated to start July 1, and take over for Maiorano who stepped in as interim principal after 35 year veteran of the education world Waltham High School Principal Gregory DeMeo retired.

Read the full letter:

Dear Waltham High School Community,

The decision on a high school principal is one of the most important decisions a Superintendent makes. The role is critical and is especially complex in Waltham given that we are deep in a multi-million dollar building project, implementation of an education plan, and expanding our Career Technical Education, English Learner, and STEM pathways programs, among many other scopes of work.

Over the past several weeks I’ve had an opportunity to meet with and learn more about the three finalists for the Waltham High School principal role. All three were talented and would offer significant value to the Waltham community and to our flagship school. From my perspective, however, none of the three candidates were ready, at this specific moment in time, to lead through the complex work ahead. As a result and given my departure at the end of the school year, I will not recommend any of the finalist candidates for hire. I will allow the next Superintendent to make a decision on the next leader for Waltham High School, which will also provide time and opportunity for the three finalists and other candidates to learn, grow, and further engage in the core work associated with a high school principal.

I will announce an interim leadership plan in the very near future.

Sincerely,

Drew Echelson

RELATED:

• Waltham Superintendent Drew Echelson To Resign
• Echelson Announces Resignation Is To Take Job
• Waltham Superintendent Announces High School Principal Search Team
• New Waltham High School Principal Finalists To Be Announced Soon
• Waltham High School Principal To Retire
• Waltham High School's Cutting Edge Changemaker Academy

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Photo by Jenna Fisher / Patch. Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@Patch.com or on Twitter @ReporterJenna