David Murphy, superintendent of Maine School Administrative District 44 in Bethel, speaks June 16 with first grader Kendall Bieluch at Crescent Park School in Bethel. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen

BETHEL — On a recent visit to Crescent Park Elementary School, Superintendent David Murphy seems right at home on the playground. He is surrounded by teachers who joke with him and kindergartners who run to him giggling and offering tiny leaf bouquets. He graciously accepts all them, even though his pocket is nearly full.

Murphy said he appreciates the many families he has come to know in his 39 years with Maine School Administrative District 44.

“Like Meghan,” he said, pointing to a teacher across the playground. “Meghan was a student in my daughter’s class.”

His official last day was Friday.

The first 16 years of his career were as a principal of the district elementary schools in Bethel, Woodstock and Andover. He was also principal at Telstar Middle and High schools. He had been principal for four years when he was named a National Distinguished Principal one of 59 in the U.S.

In 2001, he was named superintendent.

Murphy moved to Bryant Pond with his late wife, Nancy, in 1984. His children, Bill and Erin, were born and a few years later they moved to an 1872, 165-acre property that was originally built by Hiram York who constructed the Artists Covered Bridge in Newry.

Murphy was honored recently by 75 people at a surprise retirement party at Sunday River. Staff gave him a Boston rocker emblazed with the district’s logo and lots of children’s books to read to his grandchildren.

David Murphy, superintendent of Maine School Administrative District 44, gets a hug June 16 from Liam Chan at Crescent Park School in Bethel. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen

His wife, Nancy, who died in 2020, was the adult education director for Vocational Region 9 for many years.

Starting this month, he will follow in her footsteps as adult education director, continuing part-time with SAD 44 as facilities overseer and grant writer.

Mark Kenney, principal of the middle and high schools, will become superintendent.

Some of Murphy’s proudest accomplishments are the Telstar Freshman Academy, “one of Maine’s earliest and most often visited experiential outdoor learning programs,” he said. Another is initiating the dual enrollment program with Central Maine Community College.

The latter has allowed eligible seniors to attend the college full time as campus students.

This was “long before college courses became the more common option that they are today,” Murphy said. “Still, the primary goal of that program was to give our students an on-campus experience that would help them be better prepared for the college experience.”

A $4 million federal Teacher Incentive Fund created opportunities for professional training for teachers and administrators.

“During my tenure, we were also able to manage to navigate our way through the required school consolidation effort and maintain our status as a small school district, becoming one of the first exceptions to the requirements of the law,” Murphy said. “This accomplishment served us well when the pandemic hit.”

During that time, many schools were not able to return to the classroom in the spring of 2020 and those that did had to limit in-school attendance of their students to two or three days a week, he said.

David Murphy, superintendent of Maine School Administrative District 44, accepts a leaf bouquet June 16 from a student at Crescent Park School in Bethel. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen

“The vast majority of our students attended all SAD 44 schools five days a week thanks to the incredible efforts of our teachers and administrators,” he said. “By the end of the year, SAD 44 had approximately 90% of the total student body attending in-school classes on a full-time basis.”

Before coming to Maine, Murphy was a teacher in Brockton, Massachusetts, for nine years. He was recommended for a position by the superintendent but didn’t take the job because he was young. The person who was hired for that job had been a principal in SAD 44.

“I knew where there was at least one opening,” he said.

It was “the best move we ever made … it has been a great ride,” he said.

He said his professor at Stonehill College helped him realize how important it was to make the classroom a safe, fun and energy-filled place for kids to grow and learn.

In his years as a principal, Murphy was known to have written a comment on every report card.

“Back in my days as principal, I believed that our school could always reach whatever bar we set through teamwork, encouragement and by creating an atmosphere that both encouraged and recognized effort. As a superintendent, that belief has not changed. We need to treat every child the way we would want our child treated and make every decision based on what we would want for our own kids.”