PEABODY — The Peabody School Committee has voted unanimously to give Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala a four-year contract extension.
“I would like to be here a long time and I am very touched and humbled that this was a unanimous vote,” Vadala said at the Sept. 27 committee meeting. “I know this is a leap of faith to invest this much time (in me). As we went through our budget last year, we talked about stability and sustainability. I am really proud to say that we can be together for the next four years and beyond.
“As I’ve said to you before, I want to retire here. Knowing we have the support going forward, I know we can do some great things.”
Vadala was hired as superintendent in April 2020 after serving four years as assistant superintendent in Revere. Vadala inherited the chaos that came with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis disrupted learning over the next two years.
“We’ve been through a lot together through COVID and as we’re coming out of that,” Vadala told the Peabody School Committee. “We’re really learned a lot about each other.”
Vadala succeeded former state education specialist and Peabody teacher Dr. Marc Kerble, who had served as interim superintendent following the sudden death of Superintendent Cara Murtagh.
His career in education began in 1999 as a middle school math teacher at SeaCoast Academy in Revere. He was promoted to grades 9-12 cluster leader and equity coordinator before leaving Revere to become a high school special education teacher and mathematics teacher at Westford Academy.
After six years at Westford, he returned to Revere High School in 2010 as team chairperson for special education. He then served as assistant principal at the A. C. Whelan Elementary School in Revere, becoming acting principal in 2015. He became assistant superintendent in 2016.
Vadala earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and master’s degree in special education at Boston College. He earned a doctorate in leadership in schooling at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
School Committee Chair and Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr. said the terms of the new contract had been settled during an executive session held prior to the start of the regular meeting. Committee member Beverley Griffin Dunne moved to accept the mayor’s contract extension recommendation. Fellow committee member Brandi Carpenter seconded the motion. There was no discussion on the motion.
The new contract takes effect on July 1, 2023 and runs through June 30, 2027.
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
