ATHOL — The field of candidates to succeed current Athol Royalston Regional School District Superintendent Darcy Fernandes has been winnowed to four finalists. The names of the hopefuls were announced at the School Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 13. Fernandes is leaving the district at the conclusion of the current school year due to the failure to reach agreement with the committee on a contract extension. She has been with the ARRSD for five years.

Massachusetts Association of School Committees Field Director Tracy Novick has overseen the search process. Novick recently coordinated the superintendent search in Winchendon.

In a memo to his colleagues, committee Chair Lee Chauvette explained that 19 applications had been received by the deadline of Friday, March 25. The Search Committee, he continued, reviewed all applications the weekend of March 26 and 27.

Further, said Chauvette, the Search Committee met three times between April 5 and April 11 to interview seven semi-finalists. The four finalists were chosen following deliberations that took place after the final interview on the 11th.

The four finalists for superintendent include:

• Marene DiLeo, who is currently serving as superintendent of Ware Public Schools, a post she has held since 2014. She has worked in Ware for 16 years, first as principal of Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School, from 2008 to 2011, then as principal of Ware Junior Senior High School from 2011 to 2014.

Prior to her tenure in Ware, DiLeo spent eight years in Holyoke. From 2000 t0 2002, she held the post of district health education coordinator. She then served for two years as assistant principal for Morgan Elementary School and was promoted to principal in 2004.

She has a doctorate of education from the University of Massachusetts, from where she had also earned her bachelor’s degree and certificate of advanced graduate study. She also received an associate degree from Quinsigamond Community College.

• Matthew Ehrenworth has been employed as assistant superintendent of the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District since 2018. From 2013 to 2018, he was the director of business operations at the Chista McAuliffe Regional Charter School in Framingham. Between 2009 and 2013, Ehrenworth served for two years each as principal of Leicester Middle School and Coakley Middle School in Norwood, respectively. He has also held assistant principal positions in Fitchburg, beginning in 2005, and Marlboro from 2006 to 2009.

Ehrenworth earned his master’s degree in school administration and supervision from Touro College in Manhattan. He also received a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from Boston University.

Cynthia Kennedy has been with the Athol Royalston Regional School District since 2109, serving first as principal of Royalston Community School, then, beginning in 2021, as director of intervention and acceleration. Prior to joining the district, she owned CMKLeadership, a consulting firm specializing in educational support systems. In 2012, Kennedy was named assistant principal for Paper Mill Elementary School. She was promoted to principal in 2015.

Kennedy received her master’s degree in education from Springfield College and her bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University. She has written three books on educational leadership and management.

John Provost is currently superintendent of schools for Northampton Public Schools, having held the post since 2014. He served as superintendent of North Brookfield Public Schools from 2011 to 2014. From 2003 to 2011, Provost was the director of special services for Agawam Public Schools. He served in various administrative positions in the Holyoke school district between 2000 and 2003, during which time he was also a research assistant at UMass. He also was education coordinator for the Bedford-based EDCO Collaborative.

Provost received both his master’s degree and his doctorate in education from UMass/Amherst. His bachelor’s degree is from Westfield State University.

Small groups of School Committee representatives will make site visits to the home district of each finalist following April vacation. Each candidate will also be making a visit to Athol-Royalston. The new superintendent will be chosen following interviews with the full committee during the week of May 9 and will officially take the reins of the Athol Royalston Regional School District on July 1.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com