New School Superintendent: Dr. Jeffrey Marsden

After a months-long process, the Medfield School Committee unanimously endorsed Dr. Jeffrey Marsden as the town's next Superintendent of Schools.

Subject to contract negotiations, he would assume the position on July 1 after the June 30 retirement of current Medfield Superintendent of Schools Bob Maguire.

"They say it takes a village to raise a child; I can tell you that it takes a village to choose a new Superintendent," said School Committee Chairman Debbie Norschese. 

Marsden, who lives in Norfolk, holds a Doctorate in Education in Educational Leadership from Boston College, and has been the Superintendent of Wrentham Public Schools since 2006.

He started his career in the Taunton school district and then worked several years in the Douglas school district as a fourth and fifth grade teacher, then as Assistant Principal/Curriculum Coordinator, and ended in 2006 as the Principal of the Douglas Elementary School.

Marsden is a former adjunct professor at Boston College where he taught "Finance and Facility in Education" between 2007 and 2009. 

About the Process

The selection process involved the entire community and the search firm of Future Management Systems.

Focus groups were created to gather information to come up with a leadership profile. Individual meetings were held with town officials. A community survey received 400 responses, the information from which was used for the leadership profile.

A Superintendent Search Committee was formed and resumes were solicited. The search committee received 30 applications which were narrowed down to six candidates who were interviewed and the top three were recommended for consideration to the full School Committee. 

A Day In The District was held with each candidate, both in Medfield and in their home district. On each visit, the candidate met with teachers, staff, administrators, parents and town officials.

An evaluation form was filled out by each member of the Medfield visiting team and those comments were shared with the School Committee as part of the decision process.

Best Fit for Medfield

While the School Committee agreed that the three finalists -- Marsden plus current Assistant Superintendent of Sharon Public Schools Glenn Brand, and Milton's Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Personnel John Phelan -- were all good candidates, Marsden was the only finalist with Superintendent experience. 

"This is a very difficult district to learn on-the-job," said member Tim Bonfatti, agreeing with the committee's opinion that Marsden was the best fit for Medfield.

"They were all great candidates; they were all very strong [but] I really did see a difference on the third day [of district visit interviews] with Jeff," said Norschese. 

Committee member Eileen DeSisto, who chaired Medfield's 11-person Superintendent Search Committee and was part of Marsden's day-long interview in Wrentham, said that district reminded her of Medfield.

"You get the same sense of just a wonderful, caring community," she said. 

During her visit to Wrentham, there were a lot of reoccurring themes and comments by those with whom the Medfield team met. He was described as:

• Children's best interest is first and foremost
• Well-respected and visible
• Very professional
• Visibly strong work ethic
• Enthusiastic
• Kind and caring
• Excellent communicator with parents, staff, administration, community
• Passionate about education and follow-through
• A fantastic leader they hate to see go

"He was described as a warm, friendly, affable person and you could see that with the kids," said DeSisto. "He knew most of the kids by name and had such a nice rapport with them and could really get down to their level...I was thrilled when we left there." 

After the committee unanimously appointed Marsden as the next Superintendent, the committee applauded Chairman Norschese for her hard work "behind-the-scenes" to make sure the selection process ran smoothly.

"It does take a village and everyone has really contributed. We have all chipped in and put in a lot of time. I am very happy with the outcome," she said.  

To watch the meeting on Medfield.TV, click here.