BPS Superintendent Finalist Dr. Tommy Welch Faces Community Panel on Partnerships and Student Safety

Uncategorized · Meeting of July 19, 2026

Boston Public Schools superintendent finalist Dr. Tommy Welch completed a 65-minute community panel interview Saturday, the second of two public finalist sessions in the district's ongoing superintendent search. Welch, who serves as BPS Region 1 superintendent overseeing 7,100 students across 15 schools in East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End, fielded questions from seven community panelists on topics ranging from graduation rates and vocational education to early childhood expansion and student safety.

He cited Region 1's absorption of roughly 60 of a district-wide 275-seat pre-K expansion, described a twilight vocational program concept for Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, and called ESSER relief funding a "two to three year" window to build social-emotional capacity. Somerville Superintendent Mary Skipper, the other remaining finalist, was interviewed the previous day; two other candidates withdrew before public sessions began.

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Source: the Uncategorized meeting of July 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.