Two of the candidates for superintendent of the Old Rochester Regional School District leaned heavily on their ties to the district in interviews on Feb. 29, while the third made a case that he may not have past experience with the school, but he would like the rest of his career to be there. 

Finalist Michael Nelson sat through a round introductions to members of all three school committees and the Old Rochester Regional School Commitee, though he knows the members well, as he has been serving as director of student services and more recently as assistant superintendent in the district for six years. 

Michelle Roy, an assistant superintendent in Dartmouth, also recognized some of the longtime school committee members, as she worked in the district for 20 years, 15 years ago. Dr. Gary Reese didn’t have a past connection to the district, but thought its values were a better fit in some ways than his current district in Westport, where he serves as superintendent. 

“I have lived regional superintendency for the last six years,” Nelson said, adding that he has a “front row seat” to how it all works.  

If selected for the role, he would reintroduce himself to the community. He also stressed the importance of being visible at events so people can approach him. 

Many community members may know Nelson, as he will be the longest-serving member in the Central Office when the current Superintendent Dr. Doug White retires in June. 

Nelson said that his job often gets labelled a “Special Education position,” but that he “[has] my hand in almost all areas of instruction.” 

His first priorities would be to fill his role and hire a business manager, design capital plan (possibly with a consultant), continue documenting curriculum, better align elementary schools and work on the transition into junior High School. 

For financial matters, which School Committee members identified as key, he would draw on his experience as principal of the Home for Little Wanderers, where he formed the budget. Over the last six years he has supported White in all public forums while he explains the budget. 

He will see himself as successful in implementing the district’s Vision 2023 strategic plan if he can incorporate project-based learning and more hands-on professional development. 

“I think I get a reputation as an easygoing guy because I get along with people. But I have no problem having hard conversations with people. I see it as being hard on the issue, but soft on the person,” Nelson said. 

Asked how he would help students who may not be able to complete college, Nelson said he would work to connect with the local business community. 

“There are partnerships that we have not even thought about that are untapped,” Nelson said, mentioning that the Mattapoisett Harbormaster approached him to set up an internship. Certificates could also be valuable for starting a career after high school. 

Roy said she is happy in Dartmouth, but  the Old Rochester role would be both the culmination of her career and a way to come full circle. 

“I would love to finish where I started,” Roy said. 

She lives in Rochester with her family, which includes twins that attend Rochester Memorial School. She said the district was a wonderful place to start and is still the “district I felt would care for my kids, and it has done that.” 

Her key to communicating is to give a consistent message and carry that through budget season and to explain reasoning for hard decisions, without getting emotions involved.  

In Dartmouth, one key to building strong relationships with the community has been having one of the two assistant superintendents attend weekly department head meetings. 

She said she knows a fair number of the principals in the district still, but would need to rebuild the central office staff and assess where the school is in its strategic plan as some of her first steps.  

She said one measure for success would be how well people know and trust her. Other criteria were varied, and included developing emergency management plans, seeing if data has improved, seeing if students are excited, and gauging their success after high school. 

She pointed to Dartmouth’s pathways in biomedical, engineering and computer science as good examples of how to ensure that students will be successful even without college. 

Reese doesn’t have prior experience with ORR, and wouldn’t move to the Tri-Town (though he would look to move closer), but hopes to stay there for the last 15 years of his career. 

He sees it as a better match for his values than Westport, as “some of their values and beliefs don’t match with mine... That’s not going to change.” 

He served as business manager for 5 months in his first year as superintendent in Amesbury. Before that, he regularly reviewed budgets for principals, which involved looking creatively at the budget and the gap between where the town and school needs. When faced with a gap he tries to explain “what would happen if we didn’t get what we needed.” 

Reese also made an effort to address the “elephant in the room,” the fact that he has “made a few transitions over the last few years.” However in looking at portraits of ORR’s superintendents he found their longevity impressive, and hopes to serve ORR for the rest of his career. 

For him, success in his first year would be teaching students critical thinking skills. The analogy Reese used was that he wants to teach students Apple knowledge, not just how to use a specific device. 

He often starts with the end goal in mind and “walks backward,” through the planning process to figure out what how to get there. 

To start improving marketable job skills, he would ask local employers what skills they are missing in graduates. 

He calls communication his greatest strength and considers himself a “member of a team, but also team captain,” within the district. 

The School Committee will hold a meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.  to discuss the interviews and choose the next superintendent.