Two career educators with more than a half century of work experience between them are finalists to become Westport’s new school superintendent, following the expected retirement of Thomas Aubin at the end of the school year.

Members of the school committee’s superintendent search committee received nearly 20 applications for the post and have narrowed their field to two — Dr. Reza Namin, superintendent of the Maine Indian Education School District, and Dr. Fran Roy, a professor at Stonehill College in Easton, Ma. The next step is a series of public interviews before the school committee.

About the finalists

Dr. Namin has more than 20 years experience as an education leader and has 15 years experience as a superintendent in school districts across Massachusetts and Maine. Before becoming superintendent of Maine Indian Education School District in Calais, Me., he served as dean of curriculum and instruction at Cambridge (Ma.) Public Schools and was chief academic officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

He holds a PhD in math and science education, and earned advanced credentials from Brown University and Worcester State University. He completed his post-doctoral studies at Harvard University, where he was named a 2019 fellow of the graduate school of education, and is a member of the National Association of School Superintendents Hall of Fame.

Dr. Fran Roy has taught and led public schools for more than 30 years.

She began her teaching career as a middle school math teacher before moving in to higher education. She was previously an assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island, served as chief academic officer at Fall River Schools and as a state-appointed receiver for Parker Elementary School in New Bedford and Dever Elementary in Boston. She is currently a professor of practice in education, and coordinator of field experience, at Stonehill, a private college in Easton, Ma.

Roy holds a PHD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a masters in mathematics from Rhode Island College, and a bachelors in mathematics from UMass-Dartmouth.

The process

The two finalists were selected from a field of 18 applicants which was reduced to five candidates after initial screening. Four of the five top candidates were interviewed by search committee members earlier this month, and one withdrew before interviews began. By Monday, one other candidate who had been named the third finalist had withdrawn, leaving Dr. Namin and Dr. Roy.

The search subcommittee is made up of 11 individuals representing the school district, parents, teachers, town departments and other community members, and has been looking for a new superintendent since Dr. Aubin announced his impending departure earlier this years.

“I am confident that the candidates ... are reflective of the priorities, values and aspirations of our community,” search subcommittee chairman Christopher Thrasher said. “We now look forward to the next stage of public interviews and the continued involvement of the school committee and the broader Westport community in this important decisions.”