Prior professional experience
How has your past experience shaped your leadership approach at Wayland so far?
I've been superintendent for quite a while, and so I've learned a lot of things, both from mentors and from doing the work about what's important about being a superintendent. I think when you start a new job as a superintendent, which I've done before, listening and learning is a key part of the job because every district is different. There are certain parts of the district that are the same and what I've learned is working collaboratively and fostering relationships with the adults who work in the district both in the administration and at school central administration and school levels is really important. Also meeting with students and observing classes and thinking about what people need to be successful in a district. Paying attention to the social emotional needs of both adults and students is really important and that's something I think about a lot that.
What was it like working as the superintendent for Newton Public Schools?
I was privileged to be the superintendent of Newton for 12 years. I loved it. It was about the ninth largest district. So it was really challenging, but I worked with some great people. I think we accomplished a lot and it was particularly hard during COVID-19. I also think schools are complicated because world events impact schools, as we've just seen over the last week. So that we can't ignore, it's not just COVID-19 but other events are stressful for schools as well.
Were you involved in the processes of day-to-day school life of the Newton students? For example, what were the schedules and rules? Did you have any involvement in making the rules?
It's really interesting because Newton has two large high schools, but it's different in that Newton has 22 schools, so Wayland is so much smaller. In Newton, I wasn't always involved in the day-to-day decisions, certainly not at the school level. While I believe that the people who should make the decisions at the school level are the people who are working in the schools, my job is to ask questions and provide support. At the central office, it's our job to make district decisions, but you want to empower leaders at the school level to make school decisions, because they have more contact with teachers and students. I [visit] schools, like I was in two schools today. So I certainly pay attention, but it's not the same that it is when you're living in a place.
What motivated you to make the switch to Wayland?
After I left my position as superintendent in Newton, I ran a large nonprofit organization that dealt with supporting refugees and immigrants, called JVS (Jewish Vocational Service) Boston. It was a great organization, but a lot of the job was done through Zoom. I really missed working with people in education, and I missed working with adults in schools on a daily basis and connecting with students. So I really missed actually working in public education. It was around last April when Wayland called and they said, “We're looking for an acting superintendent, would you be interested?” and that's how it started. By the end of April, I was ready to go. I did some work between April and July, and then I started my job as Wayland superintendent in July, but it was because I really enjoy working in public education.
Could you tell us a little more about your nonprofit organization and its goals?
The organization is called JVS in Boston, and it provides adult education, particularly in English learning, and job training to refugees, immigrants and people without resources. For example, think of all the folks who have just come over to this country who don't know English and want to get job training. We place them in jobs to train them for careers like health care, as an example. That's what JVS does, so there's an educational component to it. But as a CEO, a lot of the work was done remotely.
Do you have any specific examples of things you were able to get out of working for the
nonprofit organization that you can now apply to your role as the superintendent here?
I think most of what I apply to this job is my previous two superintendencies because they are so similar, but certainly working on teams, figuring out what kind of support people need and making sure we hire the best people is really important. Ensuring the work is focused on the clients or the students is also really important, but I think what's most relevant is having been a superintendent before and then walking into the job.