superintendent – AHS NEWSPAPER

Superintendent Discusses Student Voice

January 13, 2022

Avi Shapira

ONLINE EDITOR

In June of 2021, Dr. Magda Parvey was hired by Andover Public Schools (APS) for a three-year term as superintendent, replacing interim superintendent Dr. Claudia Bach.

COURTESY PHOTO / Magda Parvey

Bach was hired as temporary superintendent at the beginning of 2021 after Dr. Sheldon Berman left at the end of 2020. Berman started as superintendent in 2015.

Parvey is also the first superintendent of color in Andover.

In explaining why she chose to take a job in this particular town, Parvey stated that “Andover had a good reputation of academic excellence and forward thinking in terms of education, students, and equity.” Parvey was the chief academic officer in Middletown, Connecticut before taking a job in Andover. Previously, she was an assistant superintendent, and before that, a teacher and principal. Before moving to Andover, she served in district-level roles for 13 years.

After teaching for seven years, Parvey figured she “could have wider impact” if she took on a role where she could reach beyond just the students in her classroom. This made her decide to become a principal.

Parvey said that she has always had a passion for curriculum and instruction and working with both students and teachers. She wanted to do more work around the curriculum and help improve it. “[As superintendent], I have a hand in [the curriculum] without having my hand slapped for not following what someone else from central office was saying had to be done, whether I believed that it was good or not,” said Parvey. For this reason she decided to become assistant superintendent and work at the district level.

Becoming a superintendent during a pandemic has been challenging, but Parvey is glad she is able to do so in the middle rather than beginning of the pandemic. This year everyone is all in-person and has more certainty. “I don’t think anything has been easy,” Parvey said with a smile.

As the first superintendent of color in Andover, Parvey is able to bring another perspective to the mostly white administration of APS. “I get to show whatever beliefs there may be out there about students, adults, families of color, that… [people of color] have different experiences and perspectives and we do have a voice,” said Parvey. “I can actually push back and ask questions about the way things are done and always have been done and ask people, ‘Who does this benefit?’… ‘Are we really thinking about all of our students?’”

Figuring out how administrative decisions affect students is one of the things that are important to Parvey. She wants to hear the concerns of students, families, teachers and administrators. “People want to be heard,” she said.

In her six months as superintendent, Parvey has held office hours to talk to community members. She also plans on sending out a survey and holding focus groups with students and families. Generally, she has been trying to engage with the school community in student and community events. “I love the student performances, I love to see the student work,” Parvey said. “The job calls for genuine engagement and community building, and I think that’s important and that’s what I’m doing.”

In order to engage with students, Parvey has attended meetings with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Student Advisory Committee (DEI) and plans on attending Student Government Association (SGA) meetings. She described hearing “so much insight” from students. “They are our most valued customers, our prized possession… At the end of the day it’s about students,” she said.

Parvey added that she would like to hear more from students in the future.

“Change comes… from students saying ‘Here is what we really need.’ Adults are planning over here but students are like, ‘Stop planning, this is what we need.’ So I would like to hear from students and what they need,” said Parvey.

Besides hearing more from the community, Parvey wants Andover to live up to its reputation and make sure as many students as possible have an excellent experience. She is especially concerned about all minority students having good experiences regardless of their “race, gender and sexuality—all of those things that really [should not] matter when you’re talking about making sure you’re educating students and allowing them to feel like they have a voice.”

When Parvey is not working as superintendent, she likes to run, do pilates, read, and listen to music. After a busy job, one of her favorite things is “doing absolutely nothing and decompressing and trying to clear [her] head.”

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AHS Reacts: Dr. Claudia Bach

February 7, 2021

By Katie Budinger

EDITOR IN CHIEF

The shift in superintendents is something that will impact AHS students and teachers, as well as across the school district.

It could not have happened during a more turbulent time, and yet junior Tessa Barcelo said that she “was barely aware that it was happening.” This seems to be a fairly universal understanding among students, and is understandable considering the current learning environment and the unique challenges it presents.

“So many aspects in our lives have been upended and this is one more of those things,” said Mary Robb, a social studies teacher. “It may add to our anxiety, which is already at a higher than ‘normal’ level. I do feel that this change is a good idea at this time. While the aforementioned increase in anxiety isn’t ideal, the opportunity to have fresh eyes and ideas in our school district will hopefully outweigh that increase.”

However, Robb is pleased by the recent push to include community opinions in large decisions, and encourages everyone in the district to exercise such opportunities so that when the district makes a choice, it will be “a more fully informed decision.”

In regards to the choice of Claudia Bach specifically, senior Emme Pitts was comforted that Bach is already familiar with the district.

“She seems pretty nice and she’s obviously qualified since she’s been superintendent before,” she said. “I mean I think she knows what she’s doing and she’s familiar with the town, plus we’re going to be getting a new superintendent soon anyways. So I think this should be fine.”

Robb agreed, and added, “I feel it was time for a change in superintendent and the opportunity to search for another one gives our school district and greater community the chance to take a good, long look at our schools.”

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Q&A with Interim Superintendent Dr. Claudia Bach

January 2, 2021

By Katie Budinger & Shravya Sathi

EDITOR IN CHIEF & ASSOCIATE EDITOR

COURTESY PHOTO
Interim Superintendent Dr. Bach.

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.