Thursday, April 6, 2000 Older Editions

Principal attractions: Three finalists for Andover High

By Rebecca Lipchitz

A former Andover teacher is one of three finalists selected by a search committee to become the next principal of Andover High School.

Finalists Marilyn Hurwitz, principal of Marblehead High School; Michael Jones, principal of Maynard High School; and Peter Anderson, principal of Northwood Middle School in Woodstock, Ill., will be visiting Andover early next week to meet with the public.

According to Personnel Director Candace Hall, Andover's superintendent will review comments from the public the week after candidates visit, and may announce a decision shortly after school vacation, which ends April 23.

Unlike the interviews for the superintendent of schools, the principal candidates' formal interviews will be private.

Candidates contacted by the Townsman say Andover's high caliber faculty and wide spread parent involvement are both reasons they want work in Andover.

Hurwitz was not available for comment.

Anderson, who also coached football and hockey, began his teaching career at Andover East Junior High School in 1968. He taught in Andover until 1982. He also served as a department chair and program adviser for English.

Anderson says he is not actively pursuing many jobs.

"But I'm looking for a challenge, and for a chance to return something to the community," says Anderson.

He remembers Andover as a "competitive" school district with a lot of parental involvement.

"It's the kind of place where people are glad to work," he says.

His work as a principal has been focused on raising student performance and revamping the math curriculum. He became principal at Northwood Middle School 10 years ago, and in 1996 the school was named a National Blue Ribbon School for Excellence.

He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Colgate, a master's in education from Salem State College, and has done postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard University.

Jones had an Andover connection by being acquainted with the late Larry Robinson, former Andover High School Principal.

The two often met at sporting events when working in the same district, Jones at Maynard High School and Robinson at Littleton.

If he were named principal, Jones says he would follow Robinson's lead, and become part of the Andover community.

"I think what the high school needs most of all is stability," he says.

As high school principal, Jones has reintroduced department head positions, formed a faculty council to advise the principal, increased parental participation and worked to raise test scores, he says.

"The school climate here is much more positive than it was three years ago," says Jones, who has been principal in Maynard since 1997.

While Maynard High School is relatively small with 410 students, Jones says he has worked in larger schools, including Wayland High School and the Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough.

Jones earned a bachelor's degree in English from Rutgers College, a doctorate in English from Boston College, an master's in education in school administration from Bridgewater State College, and in 1987 completed a three-year Special Studies in Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

He sees Andover as a community full of "tradition and strong family orientation."

"I've really fallen in love with the place," he says of Andover and the Merrimack Valley.

Hurwitz has been principal of Marblehead High School since 1997.

She began teaching in Boston Public Schools in 1970 and worked in various administrative positions until 1997, when she left her position as headmaster of Charlestown High School for Marblehead.

She has also served as program director of Another Course to College, an alternative college preparatory program.

Each candidate will visit Andover schools for a day, and attend a reception for the public at 4 p.m. at the Andover High School library on the day they attend.

Hurwitz is scheduled to visit on Monday, April 10; Jones on Tuesday, April 11; and Anderson on Wednesday, April 12.

Patrice Minton, moderator of Townwide PTO and member of the search committee that picked the three finalists, says she believed the committee was well-rounded in its representation of parents, teachers and administrators.

"It was really by consensus," she says of how the finalists were chosen from a group of 38 applicants.