Matt D’Andrea has been offered the job of superintendent of schools in Wareham.
D’Andrea was one of two finalists for the job and was selected by the Wareham School Committee on Thursday night. D’Andrea still has to negotiate a contract with his new employer.
“I’m excited about it,” D’Andrea told The Times. “As I was telling the Wareham School Committee last night, I remember leaving Wareham in 2006. They didn’t do an exit interview, but they would give you a form to fill out to give feedback about why you are leaving. I wrote that I hope someday I can return to Wareham in a different capacity. I always remembered that.”
D’Andrea has been the Island’s superintendent since 2015. Prior to that he was an assistant superintendent on the Vineyard. But he cut his educator’s teeth on the South Coast of Massachusetts. He was a teacher in Wareham and a principal in the Old Rochester Regional School District.
“I’m excited to be going back. I feel like it’s the place where I learned to be a good educator,” D’Andrea said.
D’Andrea beat out Wareham assistant superintendent Andrea Schwamb. Asked if she would be staying on, D’Andrea said, “I hope so, but I know she’s been looking for a superintendent’s position.”
As for Martha’s Vineyard, should negotiations pan out for D’Andrea he will be leaving at the end of the school year.
He would be leaving at a busy time for the Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools — Tisbury is about to start construction on a $55 million renovation and addition; the Island is considering how to fund a new high school; a controversial field project is before the Oak Bluffs planning board; and teachers are going to mediation over stalled contract talks.
D’Andrea would not speculate on who might replace him on the Island, but said there are candidates in the district who could step in.
“There are certainly very talented people on our current staff who would be excellent superintendents who would probably bring skills that I didn’t have or don’t have that would strengthen the district in other areas,” he said. “There is a talented pool in our current staff.”
D’Andrea’s son is a senior at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. In a previous interview, he said that was one of the reasons he and his wife decided it would be OK for him to pursue the Wareham job.
The Vineyard, he said, will always hold a special place for him. “I’ll always be coming back,” he said. “This is a great place.”
Many of us would like to see Richie Smith become our new Superintendent.
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