The Revere Board of Education has appointed the district’s new permanent superintendent following the completion of a complex interview and selection process.

The Board officially hired Matthew Montgomery at their meeting on February 17, where he signed a three year contract with the Revere district. Board member Dana Appel elaborated upon the selection process.

“[The] applicants were prescreened by our search firm, Finding Leaders, who had put together a profile based on previously-held discussions with various focus groups…. Based on the results of that screening process, the board selected six candidates for a first round of interviews. After interviewing all six candidates, the board selected two finalists. Each finalist met with a group of district stakeholders for a second interview, an informal dinner with the board, [and then] a third interview with the board. The board then took a day off to really think about both candidates, [and] we met for a final time…to make our final selection. Once we agreed upon [Montgomery], we called him to offer him the position, which he was very excited to accept,” Appel said.

As part of the selection process, the Board invited various stakeholders to meet and question the candidates before the final decision was made. These stakeholders included teachers, support staff, students, administrators and members of the community. Appel explained the role the stakeholders played in the choice.

“Our stakeholders were a crucial part of the process. The board invited approximately five members from each of the following categories: teachers, support staff, community members, administrators and high school students. We selected stakeholders carefully in order to make sure that we had a good mix of staff from every building and every experience level, and representatives from both Richfield and Bath Township…. Input from stakeholders greatly impacted the board’s selection of [Montgomery] as superintendent,” Appel said.

Montgomery was selected from the initial pool of 47 candidates that applied for the position. Board President Claudia Hower voiced the criteria that the Board had in mind when conducting their search, and what she believes Montgomery will bring to the district.

“We were looking for someone with previous superintendent experience, longevity in the position, a proven track record of increasing student achievement, communicates openly, works well with the community, personable and approachable, highly visible, fiscally responsible and collaborative. I believe our selection of Matt Montgomery meets all of those criteria…. [Montgomery] brings an enthusiasm that will ignite our instructional process. He will be very collaborative with faculty and staff to achieve growth in the district,” Hower said.

Montgomery has nine years of educational experience, having worked as a science teacher, middle and high school principal and a superintendent in the past. He explained how he first discovered the opening.

“I saw a newspaper article that [Randy] Boroff was retiring in October of last year…. I have family right next door to you guys. I know the area very well. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for the Revere district and I always thought that it would be a place where I would love to work. So when I heard about that opening, I was watching and waiting for the process to begin and I put my name in the hat for that position,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery also elaborated upon his reasons for applying for the position.

“[Revere] is a first rate district, and as I am meeting people, [I see that they are] first-class individuals…. I was drawn to the area because it is a high-performing district. It is somewhere where I feel I could become a part of the team and grow as an individual, and hopefully we will grow together as I partner with the stakeholders,” Montgomery said.

Currently, Montgomery works as the superintendent of Waterloo Local Schools, where he will remain until the end of the school year. He expressed his goals for the upcoming months.

“I will be taking an active role in learning [about] the community and being a part of things this spring [trimester]…. My first priority is that I have to make sure that fulfilling my obligations here at Waterloo and ensuring that I am giving them one-hundred percent. In tandem with that, my commitment is to become familiar, open and available to the Revere community during this transition time…. My main goal is to engage in open communication and thoughtful listening to really determine as a group where we want to take the district…. I want to come in and listen and develop relationships, and once those relationships are intact, develop the ability to collaborate about where we together want to take Revere to the next level,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery went on to say that he was “humbled” to be accepted for the position and that his commitment “will be to the Revere community to work together to provide the best education possible for the students we serve.”

Montgomery will officially succeed interim superintendent Dr. Joseph Madak on July 1, 2015. He immediately integrated into the operation of the district upon his hiring.