TEWKSBURY — Tewksbury’s interim Superintendent Brenda Theriault-Regan updated the Town Crier that the principal search committee has selected two finalists for the Tewksbury Memorial High School principal position, which will be vacated by interim Principal Jon Bernard at the end of the school year.
Bernard has served as interim principal at TMHS for two years, coming out of retirement to aid the district during the pandemic. Bernard is a former superintendent of the North Reading Public Schools.
The finalists are Andover High School Assistant Principal Scott Darlington and Wynn Middle School Assistant Principal Andy Long, according to Theriault-Regan.
Theriault-Regan said a total of 28 people applied for the position. The first round of interviews were conducted with eight candidates and four candidates were selected by the committee to move on to the next round. Darlington and Long were chosen as the two finalists following both rounds of interviews.
The search committee consisted of 11 participants: one School Committee member, three administrators, one principal, one assistant principal, one teacher, three parents, and one TMHS student.
Darlington has served as the assistant principal at Andover High School since 2017. He previously worked at Hudson High School as the career pathways and media integration specialist. Darlington worked as a media teacher and video editor and was a principal intern at Hudson High School. He also worked in industry at technology firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman.
Darlington holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from University of Iowa, and a Master of Education in instructional technology from Cambridge College. Darlington has a certificate in Educational Leadership from Northeastern University.
Long served as the assistant principal at Tewksbury’s Wynn Middle School since 2012, served as an assistant principal in Andover, and as a classroom educator in Andover and Newton. Long began his career as a Spanish teacher in Chicago.
Long received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a Master of Education from Cambridge College and a certificate in advanced graduate study in Educational Leadership from Salem State University.
According to the district, it is possible that site visits will be conducted for each finalist in their respective schools. A decision is expected min-March.
