MONTAGUE — Two finalists will be considered by the Gill-Montague Regional School District School Committee to become the district’s next superintendent.
Marc Gosselin Jr. and Brian Ricca were the two finalists put forward by the Superintendent Search Committee. Both have administrative and teaching experience.
Turners Falls High School sophomore and School Committee student representative Olivia Wolbach, who served as chair of the Superintendent Search Committee, and Tracy Novick, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees field director for central Massachusetts, spoke to the School Committee about the two candidates and detailed the interview process that took place at the end of January.
Wolbach said eight applications were received, and the Superintendent Search Committee selected four candidates to interview.
“On Wednesday, Jan. 28, the search committee deliberated in an executive session,” Wolbach said, adding that the committee unanimously recommended bringing forward Gosselin and Ricca for consideration by the full School Committee.
According to the candidate biographies, Gosselin was previously superintendent of the Lenox Public Schools, Regional School District 12 in Washington, Connecticut, and at Winchendon Public Schools. He’s also served as an elementary school principal, a middle school and elementary school teacher, and a student support coordinator. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, his master’s degree in education from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Hartford.
As part of Gosselin’s statement to the School Committee that was provided with his resume, he said he resonates with the district’s “emphasis on relationships, stewardship and student-centered learning,” and that it “aligns closely” with his experience and values.
Ricca is currently the interim superintendent at the Southern Berkshire Regional School District and was previously superintendent at the St. Johnsbury School District and Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools, both in Vermont, as well as the East Greenwich School District in Rhode Island. He started his teaching career in Chicago and also taught at the University of Vermont. He earned his doctorate of education from Loyola University in Chicago, a master’s degree in education from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross.
In Ricca’s statement to the School Committee attached to his resume, he shared that he thinks Gill-Montague has “tremendous promise.” He added that he thinks the district’s “commitment to its educators, the pride of its communities and the richness of its local culture provide a powerful foundation on which to strengthen outcomes for all learners.”
Ricca is also a finalist in the superintendent search at the Southern Berkshire Regional School District, Novick noted. Gosselin is not currently employed at a school.
As the process continues, district families and community members are invited to come to the Turners Falls High School library on Friday, Feb. 6, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. to meet with Ricca, and meet with Gosselin at the same time and place on Monday, Feb. 9.
At its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 6:30 p.m., the School Committee will review and decide on what questions to ask during finalist interviews scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24, in an open session, followed by deliberations to select the new superintendent.
“You did have a really quite wonderful search committee that were really very thoughtful … and considerate of each other’s thoughts and considerations,” Novick told the School Committee. “And Olivia did an excellent job in terms of chairing.”