At its special meeting today, the Tewksbury School Committee announced that Lori McDermott will join the district as assistant superintendent. McDermott will leave her current job as principal of Westford’s Abbot Elementary School, a position she’s held since 2018.

Abbot Elementary is for grades 3-5 and serves approximately 370 students. Previously, McDermott was the ELL, Reading and Title 1 coordinator for Chelmsford Public Schools. She has a total of 27 years of experience in education; in addition to her work as a literacy director, she also has experience with curriculum development.

McDermott is a resident of Westford and graduated from Keane college with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and Teaching. She also holds a Masters of Education-Reading Specialist from Rivier University.

McDermott’s first day will be July 1. She replaces Brenda Regan, who was hired as the Tewksbury Public Schools superintendent in May.

At the meeting, Regan said McDermott’s colleagues called her “a highly effective and capable educational leader. She is an engaging and friendly leader who possesses strong communication skills. She’s a tireless worker, she is calm, thoughtful and caring in the way she leads her staff. She puts students first and supports her staff to do just that.”

McDermott was selected from among some 20 applicants, and her selection was unanimous.