Dr. Paul Stein, currently deputy superintendent of Newton Public Schools, learned Monday night that Wayland School Committee members had chosen him as the next superintendent of Wayland Public Schools.

Stein, who was driving home from a Newton School Committee meeting when he learned the news, said that his selection "means so much" both professionally and personally.

"It’s professionally exciting to think about working in Wayland and working with some of the people I’ve admired from a distance," Stein said, noting that he'd had the opportunity to work and talk with professionals in Wayland during his time working in other districts. In particular, Stein recalled his relationship with retired Wayland Middle School principal Richard Schaye, whom Stein said he called often during his own years as a principal. 

"One of the reasons why I stopped in my tracks when I got a call about applying for this job is because it was Wayland," Stein said. "I’ve always had only positive interactions with Wayland. The other attraction for me about Wayland was it’s values. It's certainly a community that supports its schools."

Stein said the education values Wayland expresses are in line with his own values and there is a similarity in belief system when it comes to working with kids.

He also sees an opportunity in Wayland to grow and improve his own skills.

"One of the things that I like about education and my career in particular is it has always afforded the opportunity to learn and grow and share my skills with whatever organization I was, in recent years, leading," Stein explained. "Each juncture to me represented that combination that I felt ready to do the job, but also that there was enough there that it was a good learning experience. I had a lot to give people, but it was also a place where I would learn something."

Stein said he arrived home last night and shared his exciting news with his family before calling close family members "even though it was late." He then took some time to write a note to his current team in Newton because "I do feel very connected to them."

Contract negotiations are the next step in the process, and Stein said he is confident that step will go well.