Anne Wilson, Jonathan Landman, and Paul Stein, the three finalist candidates to replace retiring Superintendent Gary Burton, visited the Wayland Schools and met with the School Committee over the last two weeks. The School Committee expects to choose from among them in the next few days.
The School Committee, the Selection Committee and a search firm, Future Management Systems (FMS), are leading the selection process. The Selection Committee is composed of six parents and community members, as well as six teachers and school administrators. Future Management Systems, a firm located in Beverly, MA, specializes in seeking out suitable leaders and pointing organizations in the right direction.
FMS began the search by compiling 34 applicants that fit a Leadership Profile that they compiled for the town. Of those 34 applications, the Selection Committee selected seven candidates to interview. From there, in late December, the Selection Committee recommended the three finalists: Wilson, Landman, and Stein.
“Those three finalists each had a day-long field trip to Wayland,” said Dr. Louis Jurist, chair of the Wayland School Committee. “We took them around to each of the schools, where they met with teachers and parents; at the high school they met with students and faculty department heads.”
None of the finalists have ever been superintendents during their administrative careers, but they all began in the classroom as teachers and now work as administrators.
Dr. Paul Stein is Deputy Superintendent of the Newton Public schools. After working in a similar environment to Wayland, Stein believes that a transition to Wayland would be simple and beneficial to the Wayland community.
“Wayland values, I think, are similar to the values in Newton. The strategic plans [of the school systems] are very similar, and that makes it very appealing that I would be going to a community that has similar values to my own,” Stein said.
After taking a tour of the Wayland Schools, Stein was impressed by what he saw.
He said, “I just instantly had a positive feeling about the school, which made me feel positive about the school and positive about wanting to work there and in the district.”
Dr. Anne Wilson, currently the assistant-superintendent of Human Resources in Brookline, comes from a very diverse background with a broad range of experience. Wilson arrived in Massachusetts after serving as a school principal in California.
“I have a strong desire to use what I’ve learned and use the experience to help Wayland get to the next level,” Wilson said. “I would be extremely excited and proud to represent the Wayland schools and to work with the caliber of people that I met on my visits.”
Much like Wilson and Stein, Dr. Jonathan Landman has a long resume, including work as a history teacher and his current position as Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning of the Randolph Public Schools.
Landman is most excited by the prospect of being an integral member of the Wayland Schools because of his desire to help students better succeed. By helping systems such as Wayland’s schools improve, Landman sees a brighter future for American society.
“The kids who graduate from Wayland High School are going to go on to be leaders in the state and in the country and in the world. Its really important that the education that they’re getting is a high-powered, exciting, engaging education that’s preparing to be the most effective leaders that they can be, and to make a real difference in the world,” Landman said. “The work of moving the school system forward is the work of making the world a better place, and I’m very excited by that work.
Today, the School Committee will hold a meeting to potentially select the next Superintendent.
“We’ll discuss it, [and] hopefully we’ll have a selection. We may want to have some more information. They’re very good candidates,” Jurist said.
During the summer, outgoing Superintendant Gary Burton recommended a number of potential successors for the School Committee to consider. However, Burton has not provided any further personal input while the School Committee searches for a proper replacement.
“I’m not involved at all, nor should I be,” he said.
Dr. Burton will perhaps be best remembered by students for his decisions regarding snow days. On numerous occasions, Burton decided against closing Wayland schools while neighboring communities opted to stay snowed in.
Burton has been with the Wayland schools for thirty-five years and has decided to retire at the end of the school year to spend more of his time with his family.
“It’s time, and I’m old enough to retire,” he said. “I have two grandchildren that I don’t see nearly enough.”
