Clark To Apply For Nauset Superintendent Post

ORLEANS – The principal of Nauset Regional High School says he plans to apply for the district’s top post.

Patrick Clark last week said he will apply to become the next superintendent of the Nauset Public Schools following the retirement of School Superintendent Brooke Clenchy at the end of the current school year.

“I informed my staff just about a week back, and I’m hoping to be invited for an interview to learn more about what they’re looking for in terms of the characteristics of the next person to lead the district,” he said when reached by phone last week.

Clark is in the third year of his return to Nauset Regional High School, where he began his teaching career from 1994 to 2003. He spent 10 years as principal at Barnstable High School before returning to Nauset High as assistant principal in 2021. The following year, he was named principal after the departure of Chris Elsasser.

Regarding his decision to seek the superintendent post, Clark said he believes he’s at a point in his career where he could effectively lead the Nauset school system. 

“You gain certain skills and perspective and competencies in the work, and you look to see how that can be applied to different positions, and how you might step up into a larger position and make a positive difference,” he said. “But it was more of, I would say, an evolution as opposed to a long term goal.”

One of Clark’s goals, if hired as the district’s next superintendent, would be to help create a more unified K-12 school system that functions as more than just “an assembly of schools.” That includes instilling the values of what makes up a Nauset graduate from a student’s earliest years in the district, he said.

An eight-member subcommittee of the Nauset Regional School Committee has been working to identify the district’s next superintendent since this fall, when Clenchy announced her plans to retire. Clenchy, who was hired as interim superintendent in April 2021 before being named to the job full time the following year, is in the final year of her three-year contract with the district.

Clark said he has had an “outstanding” working relationship with Clenchy during his tenure as high school principal.

“When a principal is working with a superintendent, you really need to be on the same page in terms of how things move forward,” he said. “It’s been an excellent working relationship.”

Applications for the superintendent post were due Monday, and the subcommittee was set to begin its review of candidates on Dec. 18, said Judy Schumacher, who chairs the regional school committee.

“At that time we’ll know everybody that’s applied,” she said.

While Clark has gone public with his plans to apply for the job, Schumacher stressed that the school committee is looking at and considering all candidates who apply for the position.

“This is a very open process,” she said. “This is a full competition. We would like to see a lot of applicants.”

In the coming weeks, the candidates will be whittled down to a list of semi-finalists and then finalists for the position, Schumacher said. Finalists will be interviewed further by the regional school committee and also be given tours of the district. Nauset officials will also visit finalists’ school districts, she said.

The regional school committee is on track to possibly name a new superintendent in February, Schumacher said.

“So far we’re on schedule,” she said.