Schools

Meet Superintendent Candidate Tom Harwood

All three of the remaining candidates will have community receptions and their second interview with the Grosse Pointe Public School board Monday, July 11, and Tuesday, July 12.

Thomas Harwood is the first of three men to have a community reception at 7:30 a.m. Monday July 11 in the student commons area. 

He will then have his second interview with the school board at 6:30 p.m. Monday July 11 in the Grosse Pointe South auditorium. 

Harwood is the district's current assistant superintendent of human resources. He's worked in the position for four years and previously served as the director of the special services. He's been with the district since 2006, according to his application

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He will earn his doctorate in education from Eastern Michigan University in the fall. He holds specialist in arts degree at EMU, his master's in clinical psychology and his bachelor's in psychology/sociology from Western Michigan University.

Before coming to Grosse Pointe Schools, Harwood worked in Suttons Bay Public Schools and Glen Lake Community Schools as dual superintendent. He also worked as an executive director for Lake Orion Community Schools and was an elementary principal in Centerline Public Schools. He also worked as a management consultant for Oakland Schools.  

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Harwood lives in Rochester. He applied for the superintendent position in Rochester Community Schools earlier this year. He was one of  but was . 

The district is searching for a new superintendent to replace its longest-serving employee in the role, C. Suzanne Klein.  in December and she'll have been in the position for 15 years when she retires. 

All of the candidates completed their first interview with the school board in June. The district recorded the interviews and televised them after all were complete. Watch the interviews here.

The other candidates include:

  • Richard Machesky, Troy Schools Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education
  • , Birmingham Public Schools Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources


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