Waltham Public Schools announces finalists for high school principal job

A search committee has chosen three finalists for the position of principal at Waltham High School.

The committee selected Donavan Tracey Jr., Courtney Gosselin and Mike Sabin, the school district announced Thursday.

Darrell Braggs, the current principal, in December announced his decision to step down at the end of the school year. No reason was given for his departure, and neither Braggs nor Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa responded to questions from The Waltham Times.

Braggs was named interim principal in 2022, replacing principal Brenda Peña, who had announced her resignation just weeks before the start of the 2022-23 school year. Peña had served as principal for roughly a year, having started in the position during the summer of 2021.

All three finalists have experience as a principal, along with extensive backgrounds in education.

Tracey is the chief academic officer for YouthBuild Preparatory Academy, a high school in Providence, Rhode Island. He has worked as teacher, dean and principal for elementary, middle and high schools.

Gosselin is an educator with 14 years of experience as a classroom teacher and 10 years of experience as an administrator. She is in her sixth year as principal at Winter Hill Community Innovation School in Somerville, which educates students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. Before that, she taught Spanish at Salem High School.

Sabin is the executive director of school transformation for Boston Public Schools, providing support and guidance to schools that have been identified as needing accelerated improvement. He previously worked for seven years as the principal of McDevitt Middle School in Waltham. Sabin had also worked as the principal for a K-8 school in Dorchester and a middle school in Charlestown.

The finalists will visit the high school either Friday, March 28, or Monday, March 31. Two virtual forums will take place on Monday from 6 to 7 p.m., with one forum for parents and guardians and another for staff. Questions for the candidates will be selected from a list of submitted questions. 

Links to the forums will be shared on Monday. The link to submit a question is available here.

This story is part of a partnership between The Waltham Times and the Boston University Department of Journalism.