Town Government
Dedham School Committee & Superintendent
The Superintendent
Nan Murphy
2,561 Dedham students start their day in this district, and one person answers for all of it. Nan Skiff Murphy is the Superintendent of Schools, chosen by a unanimous vote of the Dedham School Committee in January 2023, and she began her tenure on July 1, 2023. She came to Dedham from Marblehead, where she was Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, and before that spent six years as an elementary school principal in Lowell, where she led the turnaround of an underperforming, high-needs school, along with school improvement work at the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The mechanics of the office do not change with the officeholder. The superintendent proposes the school budget, sets academic priorities, and runs a system of seven schools day to day, and she is hired by and reports to the elected School Committee, which evaluates her work. The school budget she proposes still needs the committee’s approval, and its total still needs the vote of Town Meeting, so a question about your school’s money has three doors you can knock on.
| Role | Superintendent of Schools |
|---|---|
| In office | Since July 1, 2023 |
| District office | 100 Whiting Avenue, Dedham, MA 02026 |
| Website | dedham.k12.ma.us |
The School Committee
Dedham’s School Committee has seven elected members, and it reorganizes after each April town election. At its April 28, 2026 meeting, Town Clerk Paul Munchbach swore in the newly elected members, and the committee elected Laurie Twomey as Chair and Joshua Langmead as Vice Chair. The committee sets district policy, approves the school budget, and hires and evaluates the Superintendent who runs the schools day to day. Its meetings are public, which means a Dedham student who shows up can speak, and its student representatives report at the table. The roster and meeting materials are on the district’s own site.
Laurie Twomey
Joshua Langmead
Kaitlyn DeStefano
Dr. Leah Flynn Gallant
Rick Michalka
Chris Polito
Anthony Rodriguez
The District at a Glance
- Enrollment: 2,561 students, PreK through 12.
- Schools: seven, including Dedham High School.
- Graduation rate: 88.8% of students graduate in four years.
- State data: DESE profile (code 00730000).
Meetings & Participation
- When: meetings are posted under the Open Meeting Law, most often evenings at Town Hall in the O’Brien Meeting Room, with agendas on the district website.
- Public comment: residents may address the committee with the chair’s permission. Check the agenda for sign-up details.
- Watch: meetings are recorded and can be accessed via Dedham Television.
- Subcommittees: much of the detailed work on budget, policy, facilities, and negotiations happens in smaller sessions before the full committee votes.
What this seat decides
Your schools
School Committee. Start times, the school calendar, bus routes and stops, the phone policy, athletics and activity fees, and the policies in the student handbook. It sets district policy, and the total size of the school budget is voted by Town Meeting.
Your principal and your superintendent. The principal for how a school rule works day to day in your building. The superintendent for how the whole district runs. The School Committee selects the superintendent, and the superintendent appoints the principals, so a question about any other staff member goes to the district, not to the board.
Curious how a bill becomes law, or how students can take on a civics project?
MassCivics last checked this page on October 15, 2026.
Sources
- Schools and districts: Massachusetts DESE, Cohort 2025 Graduation Rates, Dedham (00730000), as of June 2025.
- Schools and districts: Massachusetts DESE, district profile, Contact Information, as of June 14, 2026.
- Schools and districts: Massachusetts DESE, district profile, Enrollment Data (2025-26), as of October 1, 2025.
- School district records: Dedham Public Schools, School Committee, Committee Members, as of October 2026.
- School district records: Dedham Public Schools, Superintendent’s Office, as of July 1, 2023.