By Katie Budinger & Shravya Sathi

EDITOR IN CHIEF & ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Q: What brought you to Andover to begin with? 

A: “I did my doctoral work here, in Massachusetts, and my first superintendency was in a tiny little town in Oregon called Milton-Freewater. It was just really rural and very small. But I always wanted to come back here because I have had, for many years, an affection for New England. I had not lived in Andover before, so that was going to be new. When I saw this job opxportunity, I was very eager. In fact, I had two offers the same day – one from Oregon, a larger district, and one from here – and I was happy that I had the two offers. But, this was my first choice from the beginning. I just think living in New England is a better match for me. I love this suburban community. There is a sense of – a sort of – patriotism here and it’s a very classic New England town with a lot of honoring of our patriots from the Civil War on down. I even think the Salem Witch trials are interesting knowing that the so-called witches were women from Andover and I just think, ‘Wow, that just makes our history particularly interesting.’ I like our proximity to Boston and to Cambridge and you can go on the train and get there. So, I just think it is a very vibrant, wonderful community and so I am very happy to be here.” 

Q: What was your childhood education? 

A: “I grew up in the midwest. I went to Ohio State University. My graduate work was in Harvard. I had a wonderful high school I attended. It was called a university school. A lot of our teachers were professors from the town university.”

Q: As a high schooler, what were you involved in? Did you play any sports?

A: “That’s interesting and you know, it says something about what’s happened though the generations and another reason I’m happy to be here. That is, the opportunities for girls were limited. So I was a cheerleader – and happy to be – and we had a very athletic cheerleading team and I know you do here, too. So, it’s not to put down being a cheerleader, but I was always interested in sports, but the sports offerings were limited in my day. And, I think what also attracts to me to this community, particularly to Andover High School, is the extraordinary, wonderful sports teams and how well girls have done. I mean you are superstars! And in lots of sports and in a variety of sports. That’s really exciting for me to see as a female, to see that aspect of how girls have become much much more equal to the boys.” 

Q: What motivated you or inspired you to go into the education field? 

A: “Well, you know, that is another interesting thing that also is generational. In my generation, girls were sort of limited. Most girls went into three areas: nursing, teaching, and social work. When I was ten years old, I thought I wanted to be a teacher, so I didn’t feel limited. So I was excited to be a teacher when I was ten. And I looked at the teachers I most admired and thought, ‘Oh wow, if I could do what they did, that would be fulfilling and exciting.’ And, I never thought I’d be anything but a teacher in fact, until I worked in some school systems – not this one — where I thought the leadership was really not doing what they should be. So I decided to put my money where my mouth was and apply to a program. I first applied to Harvard as a master’s degree student and was in a program there, and then was sort of recruited into a doctoral program called the Urban Superintendents Program. It just opened up a whole new world for me and I went through a pretty rigorous training program and did an internship with a big urban district with the superintendent in Sacramento, California. And I just was hooked. I just really thought this is exciting and may be a way — even though I had to leave the classroom — may be a way to improve schools.”

Q: What are some of your hobbies and interests? 

A: “Well, for years, I ran. I used to go to the gym before they got shut down. And so, I still exercise. I usually do three miles a day of brisk walking or something like that. But I also like bicycling, and I am a reader. I read everything I can get my hands on; I like fictional and non-fictional work. I do two kinds of reading. I read books that are connecting to my profession — educational books — and I am sort of hooked on historic literature. In a way, [I’m] trying to chase my roots and try to understand better. I love gardening and do a lot of gardening.” 

Q: Anything you want to tell us about your family and children? 

A: “My favorite people are my husband and my two children, who are adults. One is a doctor; one is a documentary producer, and I am very proud of them. I love to follow their work, and I consider them first responders in some ways. I am a senior citizen so not only do I have two sons — very proud of them — but also two daughter-in-laws and they are incredible. One is a physical therapist and one is an artist, and they are both successful. And then I have five grandchildren. Two of my grandchildren normally live in New York, but now they live in Connecticut and they are going to their schools virtually. They are cut off completely from seeing their friends, so I certainly have had a view of that from my family’s perspective. The other three are in Denver and they have always been homeschooled. The oldest is an EMT; she is a hero of mine because she is transporting COVID patients to various hospitals where there’s room. She has now been vaccinated, so I am a little more relieved. But, still, I think of her doing very courageous work.” 

Q: Jobs before coming to AHS? 

A: “I have bounced back and forth between independent education, so I’ve taught in private schools and then in public schools. I’ve taught school for many years in three forgein countries in Latin America: Paraguay, Bolivia, and Mexico. I’ve taught in five states and at all levels, especially in Latin America where they just were desperate for you to fill in where you could. So I’ve taught at elementary, middle, and high school, and I’ve also taught some graduate courses, both in Oregon and at Harvard. So, teaching is still the center of my universe and I feel like I most of all need to support teachers in classrooms, as well as students. That’s really what I’ve believed. When I was here before, that was always my focus, [and] it continues to be. So I’ve mainly been in education. When I retired, I came back to this job. I worked in a couple of nonprofit organizations, one was called Education Pioneers, and the average age of the employees there was 29. I was much older, and it was wonderful to work with people who were named the Millennial generation, and it was very helpful.