The Hingham School Committee has narrowed the field of candidates for superintendent to two and will interview both publicly on Zoom on Jan. 4, with the expectation of making a decision the following day.
The two finalists are Margaret Adams, the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Melrose public schools; and Scott Carpenter, superintendent of the Monomoy Regional School District on Cape Cod.
Twenty people applied for the position in September, according to a statement from the Hingham School Committee.
A search committee winnowed the list to four: Adams, Carpenter, Wareham Assistant Superintendent Andrea Schwamb, and former Weymouth superintendent Jennifer Curtis, who is now executive director of South Shore Stars, which provides early education and youth development programs to students in low-income families.
The School Committee voted Dec. 21 to move forward with Adams and Carpenter.
The hourlong final interviews will be held on Jan. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m., and the School Committee will meet in Hingham Town Hall the following day at 6 p.m. to deliberate.
Adams has been assistant superintendent in Melrose since 2013 and was previously the district’s director for curriculum. She was director of literacy for the Malden public schools, and a department head for Bilingual/English as a Second Language services for the Brockton schools. She also has worked in the Boston, Marlborough, and Framingham schools, starting as a second-grade teacher.
Carpenter has been superintendent of the Monomoy Regional District, which covers Chatham and Harwich, since 2013. Before that, he was superintendent/principal for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, as well as housemaster and assistant to the principal there. He also worked in the Lexington schools and has been a lacrosse coach and robotics club adviser.
Hingham has an interim superintendent ― retired Plymouth superintendent Gary Maestas — for the 2021-2022 school year and is looking to fill the spot for the following school year.
Former superintendent Paul Austin resigned in June 2021 after two years in the job. He had replaced Dorothy Galo, who retired after 56 years in the district, 18 as superintendent.
Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.