Joseph Connelly (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

“I've spent my whole career as a teacher, a principal, and as a superintendent for 24 years,” Joseph Connelly tells a gathering of Harvard residents, “and there wasn't one day I didn’t enjoy coming to work.” Although he retired officially four years ago, he plans to continue working in interim positions “as long as I have the energy.” And his energy seems boundless as he takes question after question in the Bromfield School library, even though he has been touring Harvard schools and meeting teachers, students, and administrators for the past five hours.

The public meeting came at the close of Connelly’s March 16 visit to Harvard. About 25 parents, school personnel, and residents peppered him with questions for an hour, asking about his experience, his impression of Harvard, and his expectations for next year.

Asked what he found rewarding about interim positions, Connelly responded, “It’s the sense that I’ve gone in and helped a little bit.” The benefit for a town in having an interim administrator, he said, is that the person comes in with “no baggage.” “I can start clean and make decisions,” he explained. “My role is not just to tread water for a year. ... You don’t want a year of no growth.”

The biggest challenge for Harvard in the next year, Connelly predicted, will be deciding on a long-term administrative structure for the school system. Several questioners referred to the possibility that Harvard might share some administrative personnel with Boxborough’s Blanchard Memorial Elementary School. Connelly cited his experience in the Berlin-Boylston school district and also in the Tri-Town School Union that includes Topsfield, Boxford, and Middleton. The “union” model allows communities to keep their independence and local control over taxes, Connelly said, but with some loss of efficiency compared to full regionalization.

Describing his family, Connelly noted that his wife is a retired special education teacher. He was clearly happy that two of his five grown children also have careers in public education. And he noted with a grin that he enjoys his five grandchildren.

Although Connelly spent comparatively few years as a teacher before moving into administration, he clearly likes getting back into the classroom when he can. Every spring, during opening week of baseball season, he leads a third- or fourth-grade class in reenacting Casey at Bat, complete with base-runners and a noisy crowd. (His own fifth-grade teacher read him that poem, and it clearly made a lasting impression.)

“I’ve been in Harvard for two or three visits now,” Connelly told the Press, “and I’ve come away with a very warm feeling about the town and the schools. I’ve been very warmly received by everyone. I’m looking forward to spending a year in Harvard, and I plan to be visible around town even before July 1, as soon as the contract details are settled.”

Related article: Connelly chosen as interim superintendent