The Seekonk Superintendent Search Committee is pleased to announce three finalists for the superintendent position, which will be vacant upon Superintendent Rich Drolet’s departure from the district at the end of the year.
The finalists are Ware Public Schools Superintendent Marlene DiLeo, Rockland Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Rebecca Kidwell, and Wareham Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Andrea Schwamb.
“During our search for the next superintendent of Seekonk Public Schools, we ensured that the voices of our community members were included in the process so that our finalists represented the wants and needs of those that they will be representing,” Search Committee Chair Meaghan Mahoney said. “We are confident that these three finalists embody the skills and expertise that are needed and requested by our school community members to lead our district, and we look forward to announcing our appointee in the coming weeks.”
DiLeo has served as a member of the leadership team for Ware Public Schools for 15 years. She has served as Superintendent of Ware Public Schools for eight years. Before that, she served as a high school and elementary school principal within the district. She has also worked in Holyoke Public Schools as a district health education coordinator, elementary school assistant principal, and principal.
Kidwell has served as Assistant Superintendent of Rockland Public Schools since 2021. Kidwell led the district review, adoption and implementation process and district-designed resources for literacy and writing. Prior to this position, she held several positions within Braintree Public Schools, including Director of Technology and Accountability, Interim Director of Curriculum and Technology, Director of English, Reading and English Learner Education and as an English teacher.
Schwamb has served as Assistant Superintendent of Wareham Public Schools since 2014. In this role, she’s responsible for instruction assessments, professional development, evaluation, and strategic and school improvement. Before joining Wareham Public Schools, Schwamb served as an Assistant Principal and Principal in the Falmouth Public Schools and Assistant Principal in the Duxbury Public Schools.
In late March, a Search Committee was formed with assistance from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC). The Superintendent Search Committee consists of 13 members who represent a cross-section of the Seekonk school community, including School Committee members, parents, teachers, school administrators, and town officials, and is led by Chair Mahoney.
The Search Committee kicked off the search process by sharing a survey with district stakeholders as part of their community engagement efforts. In total, the committee received 87 responses from community members discussing their wants/hopes for the next superintendent. The Search Committee also hosted an in-person listening session at Seekonk High School in April that was facilitated by MASC to seek additional input from stakeholders
The district received 18 applications for the position. Seven preliminary interviews were conducted in the first week of May. During the first round of interviews, the Search Committee selected three finalists.
The three finalists, DiLeo, Kidwell and Schwamb, will visit the district later this month and will take part in a public interview with the committee at a later date.
The Search Committee and School Committee plan to announce their finalists during the School Committee meeting on May 22.
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