Advisory Committee of 29 To Interview Education Commissioner Finalists

MALDEN - An advisory committee of 29 educators, business leaders, students, parents, legislators and stakeholders will interview the three finalists for Commissioner of Education along with the Board of Education on January 7.

The committee will be broken up into two separate groups. One group will be moderated by Henry Thomas, president of the Urban League of Springfield; the other will be moderated by William Rodriguez, of Boston's Campaign for Proficiency.

Each finalist will have a 90-minute interview with the Board, and a 45-minute interview with each advisory group.

"These panels of key constituents will give the Board invaluable perspective, from multiple angles, on our three extraordinary finalists," said Board of Education Chairman Paul Reville. "This Board is committed to a participatory, inclusive and transparent process. We are grateful to these committee members for their time and views."

The wide-ranging committee has been assembled exclusively for the January 7 interviews, to help inform the Board's decision on who should be the state's next education commissioner. Members were selected to represent the wide range of

constituents and stakeholders impacted by public education in the Commonwealth.

Following each interview, every committee member will fill out an evaluation form on each candidate. These responses will be compiled and returned to Board members before they make their final decision.

The three finalists for Commissioner were named on December 19. They are: Lowell Superintendent Karla Brooks Baehr, Ohio Senior Associate State Superintendent Mitchell Dan Chester, and Wallace Foundation Education Director Richard Laine. They were selected from a pool of 16 people who submitted applications, and were among eight semifinalists interviewed by the Board earlier this month.

The January 7 interviews will be conducted publicly at the Omni Parker House. The Board is expected to vote to name the state's next Commissioner of Education no later than their scheduled January 22 meeting.