About Dr. Joseph R. McCleary

Dr. McCleary’s leadership experience in both public and private schools includes positions ranging from headmaster to president. At the beginning of his career, he spent 21 years at The Heights School in Potomac MD, where he left as Head of the Lower School to co-found The Avalon School in Maryland. Dr. McCleary went on to become the Superintendent of the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Massachusetts, managing three campuses with ten buildings and 1,450 K-12 students across six cities and towns. During his tenure, he led the school to national rankings in Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, and The Washington Post for six consecutive years, and the enrollment waitlist grew to over 2,500 students.

Later, he was the founding Executive Director of the first international K-12 college preparatory charter school in Lowell, MA. After only one year, the school realized a 30 percent enrollment increase and is flourishing today with over 1,000 students. He then transitioned to the Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA) Charter School in Marlborough, MA, where he served as Executive Director overseeing faculty, staff, and 970 students in grades 6 through 12. He led the school to a number one ranking in Boston Magazine in 2016. Following AMSA, Dr. McCleary was tapped to serve as the President of The Schools of St. Mary in Manhasset, New York, which educates over 600 students in nursery through grade 12. He successfully implemented a comprehensive revitalization of the institution and its Catholic liberal arts program.

He is a published author and invited presenter in northeastern academia, and has received multiple awards and fellowships spanning his career, including Educator of the Year in the Boston suburbs and a Commendation for Educator Excellence from the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He served for multiple years as a statewide judge for the U.S. Congressional “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” High School Civics Contest. He was selected by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to serve on the Review Panel for Common Core National Standards. Early in his career, he served as an adjunct professor of English literature at the University of Maryland and the Catholic University of America.

Dr. McCleary is a licensed Superintendent for the State of Massachusetts. He earned his Ph.D. in English from The Catholic University of America and holds an M.A. in English from Georgetown University and a B.A. in English from Towson University. He and his wife Mary are the proud parents of three grown children.