The Newton School Committee on Friday unanimously selected Natick Public Schools Supt. Dr. Anna Nolin as the next superintendent of the Newton Public Schools (see School Committee meeting recording embedded below).
Nolin has been with Natick Public Schools for some 20 years, including the past 4 as superintendent. She earlier served as principal of Wilson Middle School in Natick, and before that, as a teacher in Framingham. Last year, Nolin was named president of the New England Association of School Superintendents‘ board.
Newton’s School Committee didn’t waste time making its decision, as Nolin and the other finalist for the job, New Bedford Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Anderson, visited Newton earlier this week for in-person tours, staff meet-and-greets, an online community forum, and School Committee interviews.
Nolin sold the committee by emphasizing “her commitment to data-driven outcomes for students, collaboration with families and community partners, and serving as the lead teacher of a learning organization,” according to the committee.
Pending contract negotiations and a further background check, Nolin would assume the new job in July. Newton began its superintendent search last fall.
The Newton district serves nearly 12,000 students across 15 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 2 high schools and 2 alternative high school programs, and an integrated preschool program. The public school population in Newton is more than twice that of Natick.
Natick High principal search heads toward homestretch
As easy as it is to find information on the Newton Public Schools site about its superintendent search, we’ve found it difficult to keep tabs on Natick’s search for a new high school principal. There must be something on the Natick Public Schools site, but we’ve been stumped so far.
Natick caught some community members by surprise by holding a public forum with 3 finalists on Valentine’s Day, but fortunately Natick Pegasus recorded the event, as seen below. Notices about the event were included in emails, but were pretty far down.
The 3 finalists:
Elizabeth Zajac, Ed.D.
She was a Spanish and French Teacher for over 11 years, teaching grades 6-8 and 9-12. In 2007 Elizabeth worked as a Literacy Coordinator and Administrative Intern at the Lincoln Middle School, in Alameda, CA. Returning to Boston in 2009, Elizabeth was a Teacher Leader at The O’Bryant School of Math and Science. Since 2016, she has worked as a K-12 Director of World Language for the Needham Public Schools. Elizabeth Holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy studies from Boston University, two Masters of Arts in Education from the University of California at Berkeley and from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Rochester.
Nicole Bottomley
She taught History and Science at Framingham High School from 2000-2010, concurrently working from 2007-2010 as a mental health counselor at Youth Opportunities Upheld. In 2010, Nicole moved into administration as the Assistant Principal at Holliston High School. Since 2013, she has been Principal of the Holliston High School. Nicole holds a Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling from Boston University and a Bachelors in Psychology from Brandeis University.
Josepha Blocker
She served as a Math & Computer Science Teacher from 2002-2007 at Newton North High School. She was also an Adjunct Professor at Simmons College in 2007, teaching a masters-level course to middle and high school math educators. In 2007, Josepha became the Dean of Students at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Since 2008, Josepha has been the Culter House Dean at Newton South High School. She was also the Acting Principal during the summer and fall of 2022. Josepha holds a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership from Simmons College and a Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering from Tufts University.
Jason Noye has been serving as the interim NHS principal.
As we don’t have kids in the Natick Public Schools system, we welcome members of the NPS community forwarding any memos of note to the wider Natick community, as these are public records: natickreport@gmail.com
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