Ever since Superintendent of Schools Linda Dwight announced in May that she would be leaving the district in July 2026, School Committee members have been aware they have a year to choose a new superintendent. To help plan for that search, they invited Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), to their July 7 meeting. Chair Abby Besse asked Koocher to walk the committee through the superintendent hiring process.
“You are in the fortunate position of having an excellent reputation,” Koocher said of the Harvard schools. “People will aspire to come into a place like this.”
Koocher said about a third of the districts who hire new superintendents choose an internal candidate—someone who was expected to take over the position and has been mentored by the outgoing superintendent. Another third of the districts conduct an outside search but then hire an internal candidate. And the last third do a search and ultimately hire someone from outside the district.
“Where districts have problems,” Koocher said, “is where there are tensions between the community and the school committee.” He suggested Harvard might want to have a community survey or a focus group to identify what the town wants in the new superintendent.
Koocher noted that candidates for the job will want their identities kept confidential. But the School Committee is required to hold open meetings and cannot by law go into executive session for the search, according to the state attorney general. The solution, Koocher said, is to set up a search committee that includes only a minority of the School Committee. For Harvard, that would mean no more than two School Committee members could be part of a search committee.
MASC can provide free help with developing a survey or planning a focus group, he said. MASC also has examples of the announcements or brochures a search committee might want to send out to recruit candidates, as well as formats and examples of model interviews. All the technical help is free to Harvard as a member community.
Asked about a timeline for the search, Koocher said the best time to start is in September. To have first choice of the best candidates, he advised, the search should be finished before the holidays. “Starting in January is too late,” he emphasized.
The School Committee had opened its Monday meeting by welcoming newly elected member Brian Killeen to his first meeting. Unlike other elected boards, terms for School Committee members do not end May 31, but continue to June 30 for a better fit with the school year.
The committee then proceeded to choose new officers. Besse was elected to another term as chair, with Liz Joyce as vice chair and Killeen as clerk. All were elected unanimously.
