New Somerville Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper is utilizing her background as a specialist in learning technology to help propel the city’s schools into an advanced state of efficiency.

By Haley ED Houseman

Somerville Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper’s office is decorated with plants and data. Printed graphs of test scores and achievements are taped all over the walls, obscuring much of the fresh coat of paint her office received before she began just a month ago. This decorating combines the superintendent’s two priorities in her new position: delving deeply into the school system, and being hands on.

Since the spring, Skipper has been familiarizing herself with the system, meeting people from the community, schools and the central office. It’s a learning journey, she explains, “I’m building a picture of Somerville, learning what is working well, what people love.” It’s a journey of listening and learning from the many people involved in the city’s education.

Since 1999, Skipper has been active in the local education community, but her passion for teaching was apparent from a young age. Raised as an Arlington and Somerville native, she grew up as part of an extended family, and was profoundly influenced by local teachers. “I knew I wanted to teach from when I was in sixth, seventh grade,” says Skipper.

Now superintendent, she started her career by working her way through Tufts University with a night job at Foodmaster. She eventually attended Harvard and Columbia for a graduate degree in education. After graduation, Skipper began working in the Boston school system as a Greek and Latin teacher for Boston Latin. From there, she moved to Boston College High, where she took on teaching positions as a math teacher, and later as a technology teacher.

Skipper with President Obama, checking out some of the latest technological innovations in the classroom.

It was in this role that Skipper developed into a passionate technology advocate. She saw the influence technology could have in the classroom, empowering students and supporting teachers. When she moved back into the Boston Public School system, it was to the city’s central office, to work with technology on a district level.

It was in this position that she built the Boston Tech initiative into a district-wide program, with the help of a supportive team. At its height, the program reached 2,500 students in middle and high school. The students worked on coding, websites, as well as creating graphics, and database programing. The initiative was empowering all students and teachers to take advantage of new skills and blended learning. Teachers loved to teach it, says Skipper, because the students are so enthusiastic about the new skills.

When the Gates Foundation approached the district about a school structured around the Tech Boston initiative, Skipper had a chance to create deeply engaged technology education. The program was innovative; the public school was the first with a one to one laptop ratio, started in 2002. It began with just 75 students and 10 teachers and has grown to 1,100 students. That school is now in the hands of a team that includes some of the original members. The school was honored by a visit from President Obama, who sought to recognize Skipper’s leadership, particularly impressive as the educator who was also battling breast cancer while founding the school.

From Headmistress for Tech Boston, Skipper went on to become the Assistant Superintendent of the Innovation schools, and then the Assistant Superintendent of Boston High Schools. This middle and high school background has informed Skipper’s experience, but it doesn’t limit her enthusiasm for her new K-12 constituency. “I’m looking forward to being engaged with all ages, all families,” she enthuses. “I love the little kids, I can’t wait to see them grow through the system.”

She is downsizing from 34 schools in the Boston district (more than 20,000 students) to Somerville’s 5,000 students. It is a move from policy intensive to a more direct interaction with students and families, a change that excites Skipper.

The change of system might be part of why her office has become a data mural. “When you look around and see all the data, it’s because I like to be immersed. I really want to assess what’s working well.” Skipper is focusing on what’s already successful in Somerville, like the teaching staff. She wants to open up pathways for development and engagement for teachers. Says the new superintendent, urban work is hard work, but is rewarding and sustainable as a team. Collaboration is key. “Our teachers represent the front line with our students. They’re there everyday, working with our kids. I really work with them as partners, along with our school leaders and other staff.”

It is no surprise that she is also focused on technology – her bread and butter – focusing on programming, on the devices used, or getting student voices involved. She notes that today, “students are far ahead of most adults in the use of technology.”

She is looking to leverage social media, and teachers working one to one with students. Skipper is most committed to making sure the teachers are able to stay in front of that curve, have the skills and access to the technology they need. She wants frame technology as an effective tool for teaching and learning, to really think beyond the computer. “This means looking at STEM, of project based learning, at how technology can connect, can be personalized,” she explains. Of course, it doesn’t replace teaching, she adds, but rather complements it.

Skipper is firm in her intentions to grow the system of support already in place. “I’d like to get to the point where every student has a success plan.” Part of that plan is using the 3-6 time block, blended learning, and vacations focus on pushing students forward rather than focusing on learning melt.

Using these times to build skills and enhance the curriculum can be achieved best by working with parents, and community partners, Skipper says. Like the foundations of Somerville’s program, she is also dedicated to supporting students from birth to adulthood, not just in education but in the physical, emotional and social well being of the child.

This foundation is part of the reason she hoped to come back to Somerville, “It’s such a unique place. You just don’t find that dedication anywhere else. It’s so refreshing to me, to be concerned students having the skills for college and beyond, to career, and to rock.”

Her mission is to educate students for the 21st century, to focus on data and achievement gaps. “Data will drive our conversations, our discussions, help us to determine what are the areas we need to invest in.”

It is no surprise that you can catch up with Mary Skipper on Twitter (@svilleskipper). And as the school year kicks off, she is loving the passion of the staff around her. “It’s what you hope for in a position, coming twenty years out of Boston and knowing that system intimately. I’m nervous, I want to do very well by my staff, by my teachers, and my students, and by my parents.”