MacElhiney named Central principal
Published on July 20th, 2005
School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly recently named Groveland resident Lawrence MacElhiney as the new Central School principal.
According to the Superintendent, MacElhiney, who will replace retiring Central School Principal Kathleen Windisch, beat out six finalists interviewed for the position, and was one in 40 overall candidates vying for the local elementary school's top administrative post.
A former employee of Connelly during his tenure as Superintendent of the Topsfield school district, MacElhiney's resume boasts more than 30-years of teaching experience, including a four-year stint as the principal of one of the rural community's two elementary schools.
"I did hire a Central Elementary principal. I think he's a very good match for the Central School, and I believe we'll do well by him," said Connelly.
"Larry's biggest strength is that he's a career elementary educator. He understands the needs of an elementary school, and he's a very calm and professional individual," the Superintendent added.
Reached Monday night in his Groveland home, MacElhiney, who will formally begin his career in Stoneham on Aug. 15 at a salary level to be determined by the School Committee, plans to get a taste for the new position by visiting the school prior to his official starting date.
According to the life-long educator, he was drawn to the Central School opening for a number of reasons, not the least of which was his desire to return to a leadership position in a school district.
However, as a childhood resident of Reading and Medford, his familiarity with the area also pulled him toward the Central School vacancy, as he was seeking a different educational environment than his former occupational home in Topsfield.
"I've been looking for a principal position because I'm at a point in my career where I'm looking for a leadership opportunity. Everything I've heard about the Central School makes it seem like a very energetic [school community]," MacElhiney remarked.
"I expected that there would be some more student diversity in Stoneham. And that's kind of exciting to work with children from a different background," the Groveland resident added.
Also encouraged by his research on the town - which he conducted by pulling statistics compiled on the Central Elementary School by the Massachusetts Department of Education - MacElhiney believes that Stoneham is in very good shape in terms of student performance.
However, the 30-year teaching veteran also sees some space for improvement, and has discussed with the Superintendent ways in which to achieve better student performance on standardized tests.
"In terms of what I've seen in researching Stoneham, the town is in very good shape. I've had conversations with Dr. Connelly and Assistant Superintendent Joe Casey about ways in which the district would like to move forward in terms of test scores," MacElhiney explained.
Despite those ambitions, the former Topsfield principal sought to assure the school's parents, teachers, and students that he plans to get a feel for the school long before any such initiatives.
"I'd like to give a message to my three major constituencies: the parents, the students and the staff. For the parents, my experience as both a parent and teacher is that [a school community is better served] when the relationship is best between the parents and the school," MacElhiney said.
"To the students, I recognize that in every school, there's a uniqueness to each student. And working at a school, you have to value that uniqueness. And to the teachers and staff, I've always worked best in an atmosphere where there's fun and joy in coming to work. That's a critical element in the success of any school."
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