Who's to Blame: The School Committee or the Superintendent?

In the wake of Greg Maass, superintendent of Marblehead Schools, announcing his resignation, is the upheaval more his fault or the fault of the board that hired him?

It's the talk of the town. On Thursday, Superintendent of Schools Greg Maass surprised much of Marblehead by announcing his resignation. Maass cited an inability to work with members of the School Committee in a goodbye letter to staff. Whatever the reasons, it means the town will be looking for a schools leader. Again. It will be the sixth time since 2005 the School Committee has the job of hiring a new super, according to the Globe. Here is some of what Marblehead residents are saying about the issue: Kelly Hanlon Rigby wrote on the Marblehead Patch Facebook page that, "This is really a disgrace on our town. If we want the best schools, we need to have people willing to make the difficult changes needed. And we need a school committee …

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Superintendent Greg Maass Announces Resignation

In a surprise announcement, Marblehead Public Schools' leader announced he will step down.

Superintendent Greg Maass shocked Marblehead Thursday night with his announcement that he will resign. Boston Globe reporter Steven Rosenberg Tweeted the news Thursday night. Maass has had public disagreements with the School Board. Check back with Marblehead Patch for more on this developing story.

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Schools Are Closed in Marblehead

School officials have shuttered Marblehead Public Schools because of weather.

It's been quite the winter for snow days. The students of Marblehead have at least one more this morning, as school officials have cancelled classes. Marblehead is experiencing a storm that will bring at least 1 to 3 inches of snow, and maybe more. Tuesday's closure announcement came early. During the last storm, the severity of which caught municipal and school leaders across the state by surprise, residents criticized Marblehead's decision first to delay school, then switching mid-morning to a closure.

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Marblehead Schools Open With Two Hour Delay on Friday

The storm led Marblehead school officials to push back today's opening.

While some North Shore students are getting another snow day, in Marblehead you'll only be able to go back to sleep for a bit — or maybe help the family dig out before you head to school. Marblehead Public Schools announced they will open on a two-hour delay, according to Patch news partners 7News. For breaking Marblehead news as it happens, sign up for Marblehead Patch email news alerts.

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Governor May Sign Bill To Require Teachers, Bus Drivers to Submit Fingerprints

The fingerprint background checks would also apply to everyone seeking to adopt children or become foster parents.

  The Associated Press is reporting Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is considering signing legislation that would require teachers, workers at child care centers, school bus drivers and others to submit fingerprints for criminal background checks. The fingerprint background checks would also apply to everyone seeking to adopt children or become foster parents, as the legislation is written. Fingerprints would be submitted to the Massachusetts State Police for a state criminal history check and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check, reported the Associated Press. What do you think? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Village School Principal Leaving

Village School principal Michael Hanna recently confirmed that he will be leaving when his contract expires in June.

Michael Hanna, current principal at Marblehead Village School, will leave when his present contract expires June 30, according to this story published in the Lynn Daily Item. Hanna reportedly sent an email out to Village School parents last week, informing them that his contract would not be renewed and pointed out that he and Superintendent of Schools Greg Maass had "discussed the matter several weeks before," according to the Item. On Monday, Hanna told The Item that Maass had made the decision based on “philosophical differences.” A search for a new principal is expected to begin in the near future.

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Jessica Wyman

4:42 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012

We have really enjoyed having Mr. Hanna and are very sorry to see him leave! Very sad day for Village School.   more ›

Marblehead Public Schools Calendar

Here is the Marblehead Public School system's calendar for the month of September.

Marblehead Selected Among State's Best School Districts

Boston Magazine recently named Marblehead as the state's 24th best public school district.

The following information was provided by Boston magazine Representative Whitney Muroff: Boston magazine named Marblehead as the 24th best public school district in Massachusetts in their September 2011 issue, which hits newsstands today. Boston magazine crunched the numbers in an exclusive ranking of the best public school districts and biggest values in the area. Rankings were based on data gathered from consulting school officials and websites, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Education. Determining factors of the district rankings included: test scores from elementary, middle, and high schools in 135 districts; per-pupil spending; student to teacher ratio; number of AP classes offered; graduation rate; percent of students who…

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