MARBLEHEAD — Matthew Fox, principal of both the middle and high schools in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, has been hired as the next principal of Veterans Middle School in Marblehead.
He will finish the school year in Hamilton-Wenham and start in Marblehead July 1.
Fox, who has worked in Hamilton-Wenham since 2007, said he is "excited" to take over the work of retiring Marblehead Principal Elizabeth "Libby" Moore.
"I'm impressed by the school and its students," Fox said. " ... I'm excited to get to know everyone and get to know the community"
"I've had a great time here (in Hamilton-Wenham). I've really appreciated all of the support from students and parents. I've been fortunate to have an outstanding staff here, across the board."
Incoming Marblehead Superintendent Gregory Maass called last Thursday from Green Bay, Wis., where he is working through June, to offer Fox the job. Fox told Hamilton-Wenham staff of his new job on Friday.
For the last two years, he has overseen both the middle and high schools in Hamilton-Wenham, which share a campus. Yet, it seems two people will be hired to replace Fox.
A recent operational audit of the district suggested the high school and middle school should each have a dedicated, full-time principal, a recommendation the School Committee supported in a March 24 review of the audit.
Thursday's 7 p.m. meeting will be the first time the Hamilton-Wenham School Committee has gotten together since Fox accepted the Marblehead job. Neither Superintendent Raleigh Buchanan nor School Committee chairwoman Alexa McCloughan could be reached for comment yesterday.
Fox, who was hired in Hamilton as principal of the middle school, said one of the reasons he applied for the Marblehead job is to be able to focus on one school again.
"The chance to go back to one school, to return back to a middle school, was the driving factor," he said. "In a district of the quality of Marblehead, these openings don't come up very often."
Marblehead administrators visited Hamilton-Wenham to observe Fox on the job on March 30.
He was selected over a second finalist, Renata McFarland, former adjunct professor at Endicott College and principal of Nettle Middle School in Haverhill.
Maass flew in to interview Fox and McFarland last month.
Marblehead Business Manager Brian Salzer, who is acting superintendent until Maass arrives in July, did not return a call seeking comment, but issued a two-paragraph statement confirming Fox had been hired as principal for Veterans Middle School.
Fox worked in the Georgetown Public Schools as a principal from 2003 to 2007 and previously taught social studies in North Reading and Cortez, Colo. He was hired in Hamilton-Wenham to replace retiring Miles River Middle School Principal Jan DeSantis in 2007.
He graduated from Washington State University in 1994, has a post-degree teaching certificate in social studies from Northern Arizona University and a master's degree in educational leadership from Salem State University.
Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SNewsBethany.
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