Three new people are filling the top positions for the school districts of Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston this year.

They are interim Superintendent Stacy Buckley and assistant superintendents Brian Balke and MaryClaire Barry. Both Buckley and Barry have held other positions in SAU 19, the school administrative unit that encompasses the three districts. Balke hails from Londonderry where he was the director of pupil services. But Balke is no stranger to the community.

“It’s really exciting for me because I live in the community, so I have the opportunity to feel like I’m making a real positive change and positive opportunities for students in my local community,” Balke said.

Buckley was an assistant superintendent for student services and has replaced Dr. Darrell Lockwood as superintendent. The other assistant superintendent, MaryClaire Barry, was at Mountain View Middle School.

“We really share a common vision and commitment to the education of children within the SAU and really believe in highquality instructional services and opportunities for all kids,” Balke said. “That’s really a driving, core philosophical belief that we all share.”

In the few months between the start of their new jobs and the opening of schools this fall, the three said they have built a tight-knit administrative team. “In the last few months that we’ve been together, we have created a very strong team,” Buckley said. “I think our personalities mesh well. I think what my strengths are and my weaknesses are, MaryClaire has the opposite. Brian has the opposite.”

Barry will be the assistant superintendent for instruction and curriculum while Balke will head up student services, which includes special education and other alternative programs. In an interview, however, the educators emphasized that they work as a team. Balke, for example, said his responsibilities for special education lead to his input on curriculum and assessment decisions.

According to Buckley, both assistant superintendents earn $92,500 in one year, and the superintendent earns $120,000. Buckley and Barry both have one-year contracts. They are taking a dedicated, long-term approach to their work.

“Our administrative team views this as we’re a team moving forward,” Buckley said. “If we move forward for the next 10 years together, that would be fabulous. As the interim superintendent, I’m not looking at this as a normal interim superintendent, which would be holding the water, keeping things calm. We’ve diving in and we’re moving forward with everything.” There is plenty to dive into.

All the schools are implementing a new social studies curriculum this year for students from kindergarten to high school, based on textbooks published by McGraw Hill Glencoe. Barry said the new curriculum was modeled on state frameworks and had an emphasis on economics and civic engagement.

Also, the middle school for the past year has been preparing for accreditation through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which accredits Goffstown High School. The process is voluntary at the middle school level. Buckley said Mountain View is gearing up for a visit by the accreditation team this March.

Balke welcomes the challenge. “I think it’s always good for professionals to have a new challenge, a new opportunity, to work with new people and to bring the skill sets that I feel like I possess, as well as to be able to learn and grow from my colleagues here,” he said. Buckley said the year will be more one of refinement than major reform.

“I think SAU 19 is already doing some great things,” Buckley said. “I think everything we have in place is fabulous. I think now we’re at the tweaking stage of ‘What are we doing really well?’ and ‘What are we doing OK at that we need to do better?’”