Mr. Flaherty majored in history at Wesleyan Universtiy and received a masters degree in Education from Tufts University. His area of specialization was in Middle Eastern history. He spent seventeen years in private schools before moving to the Amesbury Middle School where he has taught for the last thirteen years.

In his spare time Mr. Flaherty likes to play tennis and go for long bike rides. He also considers himself a self-taught handy-man and likes to renovate his old wooden house.