Somerville’s new Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rubén Carmona.

Following a months-long search process, at their meeting on Monday, April 10, the Somerville School Committee selected Dr. Rubén Carmona to serve as the next Superintendent of the Somerville Public Schools. Dr. Carmona was one of four finalists who participated in site visits and public interviews during the week of March 27.

“I’m honored to welcome Dr. Carmona to the Somerville Public Schools. Dr. Carmona’s commitment to instruction, equity, and instructional excellence shown through in his interviews and site visits to our district. I truly believe that Dr. Carmona has the potential to be a transformative leader, and a leader that will fit very well within our diverse urban school community,” said School Committee Chair, Andre Green. “I want to thank all of the candidates who worked with us over these last few months. We had a hard choice before us but I know Dr. Carmona is the right choice in this moment for our entire district. Congratulations and welcome to the team.”

“I am privileged to lead the work at the Somerville Public Schools am grateful for this opportunity. I am excited to learn from and listen to all of the stakeholders in Somerville to best support all learning in the community,” said Dr. Carmona. “Somerville’s commitment to addressing academic inequities, academic excellence, and to supporting students through the whole child approach is important to the way I also approach the job, and I am excited to begin my tenure in the Somerville Public Schools.”

Dr. Carmona currently serves as Executive Director of Family, Community and Employee Engagement in the Salem Public Schools. Previously he was the Regional Recovery Academic Director in Boston, and a Principal in Salem and Lowell. Dr. Carmona has 15 years of teaching experience working in Bilingual Education and dual language programs. He obtained his undergraduate training in Modern Languages/Linguistics at the Universidad del Valle-Cali in Colombia before obtaining Master’s Degrees in Business Administration and Educational Leadership at Salem State College. In 2012 he obtained his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Boston College.

Dr. Carmona will assume the Superintendent role in Somerville as of July 1, 2023, following formal negotiations with the School Committee.

Current Interim Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeff Curley, will depart the Somerville Public Schools district in July after more than six years in Central Administration, including Chief of Staff to former Superintendent Mary Skipper. Dr. Curley will support the incoming Superintendent as needed through the summer transition.

“Alongside my colleagues on the School Committee, I want to be the first to formally welcome Dr. Carmona to the Somerville Public Schools,” Dr. Curley said. “Dr. Carmona will be joining a stellar team of educators, administrators and staff, and overall school community. We are all excited to welcome you to our district, and will be ready and eager to get right to work with you on day one to ensure a smooth transition in July. Thank you to everyone in the SPS community who lent your time and energy to this process. We are fortunate to have great educators and a very involved community here in Somerville. It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside you, and I know Dr. Carmona will have a seamless transition into his new role because of the work each of you do every day.”

The search for a new Superintendent of Schools in SPS was launched in summer 2022, following former Superintendent Mary Skipper’s selection as the Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. The School Committee launched a formal search process in Fall 2022, ultimately opting to reopen the search in late January 2023. In making their final decisions, the School Committee weighed candidates’ public interviews as well as community input from more than 150 stakeholders including educators, administrators, staff, students, and families.

— Somerville Public Schools