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McKersie is currently Greenwich's superintendent of schools. He recently announced that he was in the running for the Weston position.
McKersie, who lives in the Cos Cob neighborhood of Greenwich, was unanimously appointed as the new Weston superintendent on Thursday during a special meeting of the Board of Education. He will take over the job this summer, and his contract begins in the 2016-17 school year.
He replaces Colleen Palmer, who is leaving Weston to become the superintendent of the Westport Public Schools. She is replacing longtime Superintendent Elliott Landon, who retires in June after 17 years in Westport.
“It is clear that Dr. McKersie’s expertise in supporting academic excellence, his belief in and emphasis on the whole child, his expectations for in-depth professional development and teacher support, and his respectful and collegial dialogue with all stakeholders, made this a great match for us,” said Weston Board of Education Chair Ellen Uzenoff. “We are very excited to introduce him to all in the community in the near future, and welcome him enthusiastically to Weston.”
Since 2012, McKersie has led Greenwich Public Schools, which shares a similar reputation to Weston as one of the best public school systems in the state and the region. In Weston, McKersie will have a considerably smaller district, with a total enrollment of about 2,400 students compared to nearly 9,000 students in Greenwich.
He inherits a school district with high expectations of continued academic success. All Weston schools have excellent reputations, including Weston High School, which U.S. News & World Report named as a Gold Medal School and the best public non-magnet high school in Connecticut.
“Weston is exceptionally proud of its school district and continually sets very high expectations for every student to achieve his or her personal and academic best,” Uzenoff said. “In establishing our needs, and developing our vision for the future, all stakeholders had input into what the best candidate would bring to the district. Dr. McKersie met every exemplar that we established for our new leader.”
Twelve candidates submitted applications for the position, with McKersie emerging as the finalist in April.
McKersie’s educational career spans 35 years. Before becoming superintendent in Greenwich, he served as associate superintendent for academic excellence for the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston from 2008 to 2012. In 2010, he was a peer reviewer for the federal Race to the Top Grant Competition, and from 2004 to 2008, McKersie was the Harvard Graduate School of Education Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations.
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