Three new directors appointed to support Malden Public Schools students and staff

By Steve Freker

Malden Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Sippel, Ed.L.D., on Monday announced the appointment of three new Directors to support students, educators and staff for the 2025-2026 academic year. In an online message to staff this week, Superintendent Sippel said, “I hope your summer is off to a great start! I am pleased to announce the appointment of three new directors who will support our work of teaching and learning in the coming year.”

Dr. Sippel then described the positions — the first two (below) of which are new — and gave a brief bio of the new appointees.

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Director of Intervention and Instructional Support

Christina Balter-Scarlatos is thrilled to be joining the Malden Public Schools as the Director of Intervention and Instructional Support. For over a decade, Christina has worked in Boston Public Schools, where she was a founding member of the Data Inquiry Team and most recently the Deputy Director of the Office of Data and Accountability.

In her time in BPS, she worked directly with district, school and teacher leaders to improve instructional practices and accelerate student learning through the implementation of data-driven cycles of inquiry. She earned her certification as a Data Wise Coach with Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2015 and since then has consulted with numerous districts to facilitate professional development for principals to lead cycles of school improvement. Prior to her work in Boston, Christina was a middle school math educator in Chelsea.

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Director of Multilingual Education

Hannah Feintuch began her career in education as a middle school newcomer teacher in Chelsea, Massachusetts. She went on to serve as Dean of Multilingual Learners (K–8) and then an Assistant Principal in Lawrence at a school where over 70% of students are multilingual learners. During her time there, she helped found a dual-language immersion program to support biliteracy development. Hannah is passionate about creating authentic learning experiences, preparing students for a global world and fostering joyful, engaging classroom environments.

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Interim Director of Literacy and English Language Arts

Meghan McCormick has been appointed as Interim Director of Literacy and English Language Arts for the 2025-26 school year. Meghan is currently the Malden Public Schools’ district-wide secondary schools literacy coach, supporting educators in grades 6-8 in all of our K-8 buildings; prior to holding this role, she worked at Malden High School as a reading interventionist and coach.

Before coming to Malden, Meghan taught 7th grade ELA and writing in Chelsea. She is an adjunct lecturer at the BU Wheelock College of Education and is completing a graduate program in Reading Education. While Meghan fills this interim position for the 2025-26 school year, we will post a one-year position to serve as district-wide secondary literacy coach. Next winter, we will reopen the search for a permanent Director of Literacy and English Language Arts to start the 2026-27 school year.

“Please welcome these new colleagues who will join Carmen Livesay (Director of Multilingual Education), Cara Hovhanessian (Director of STEM), and Gerard Tannetta (Director of Social Studies and Visual/Performing Arts) in the Office of Teaching and Learning,” the Superintendent stated in his message this week.