Brand Tapped As Next Nauset Superintendent

ORLEANS – Glenn Brand went into his interview with the Nauset Regional School Committee last week as a Nauset parent. He left as the district’s new superintendent of schools.

The school committee and Union 54, which represents district teachers, voted Jan. 28 to name Brand, whose daughter is a senior at Nauset Regional High School, its next superintendent. He will assume the post beginning July 1, pending contract negotiations.

For the past six years, Brand has led the Wilmington, Mass. public schools as superintendent. Speaking by phone after the Jan. 28 vote, he said he’s “very excited” by the opportunity to lead the Nauset schools, and that he’s learned a lot about the district since relocating to the Cape almost two years ago.

“As a member of the community, not as superintendent working there, that’s been part of the joy, coming to learn a lot about the community at large, the people who live there and the school system through that parent lens,” he said. “Quite frankly, that’s as great of a starting point as I could have ever wanted.”

Brand was one of three finalists interviewed for the superintendent job Jan. 28. The committee and union also interviewed James “Kimo” Carter, the assistant superintendent of schools in Weston, and Shawn Parkhurst, the superintendent of the Windsor Locks Public Schools in Connecticut.

Prior to arriving in Wilmington, Brand spent three years as superintendent of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, as well as three years as assistant superintendent of administration and finance for the Sharon Public Schools. His resume also includes tenures as a classroom teacher, assistant principal and principal, including a stint as assistant principal at Mattacheese Middle School in Dennis from 2002 to 2004.

During deliberations Sept. 28, Tom Fitzgibbons of the Nauset Regional School Committee gave his endorsement to Brand, citing his “comprehensive knowledge of what it takes to be a superintendent.”

“I feel that Dr. Brand is really…in his prime,” he said. “I mean, he’s been a superintendent for 10 years. He’s worked in a regional district. He has a financial background. He taught in the elementary school and middle school [levels] and he’s been principal.”

Support was also voiced for the other finalists last week. Judith Schumacher, chair of the regional school committee, said she believed that Carter was someone who “can really deliver” for the district. But she also said that Brand’s experience is what the district needs “right now.” The joint committee and the union both unanimously voted to hire Brand Jan. 28.

Brand said the Nauset district’s focus on collaboration with its member towns of Orleans, Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet was one of the biggest factors in his decision to pursue the superintendency.

“Not to be cliche, but when you’ve got those pieces in place, that commitment to being collaborative and those ideals of keeping setting our sights ahead of us to do great things, that makes this work rewarding,” he said. “So it started there.”

Brand will succeed current superintendent Brooke Clenchy, who is set to retire in June. Clenchy assumed the post on an interim basis in April 2021 and was hired to the job permanently in January 2022.

Looking ahead, Brand said he plans to make good use of the next few months ahead of his planned July start date. That includes working alongside Clenchy to help ensure a smooth transition, as well as putting together what he called an “entry plan” for the start of his superintendency.

“They call it an entry plan, but it really is a roadmap,” he said. “When I get into the school system, when I start that work, in this case July 1, who should I be seeking to connect with and talk to in the communities to quickly try and, number one, start relationships and form those relationships? But also to identify what are the things that are foremost on people’s minds.”

The new superintendent will inherit a brand new Nauset Regional High School, construction and renovations of which are expected to be largely completed by the start of the 2025-2026 school year. Brand said he’s also eager to further explore the needs of the district’s other school buildings, including its elementary schools. The member towns of Orleans, Eastham and Brewster are participating in a study to explore efficiencies that may be achieved in the face of declining student enrollment. In Orleans, there have also been ongoing discussions about renovations or new construction for the town’s elementary school.

“But honestly, those are some of the things that are collectively intriguing to me about the opportunity, because I do have quite a bit of experience with school projects and kind of navigating what can be some tricky and complex issues in the community,” Brand said.

And while much rests on the shoulders of a school superintendent, Brand said he’s learned in his more than 30 years as an educator that it’s a job he can’t do completely on his own. He said he’s eager to work collaboratively with Nauset staffers, parents and the district’s member towns to move the district forward.

“It’s that sort of age-old saying of ‘It takes a village.’ I definitely at this point in my career have come to believe that that’s absolutely true,” he said. “For there to be the things that you’re seeking to accomplish to help make the school system successful, there needs to be the ideas, contributions and partnerships of those in the community, including of course those that live there.”