By Ellie Churchill and Ryann Mack

Somerville’s Superintendent of Public Schools Mary Skipper.

As you may already know, Mrs. Mary Skipper has been chosen to be the new Somerville public schools superintendent. She is the first woman to have that job. She has replaced Mr. Anthony Pierantozzi, who had been our superintendent for a long time. But, Mrs. Skipper has been through a lot before becoming superintendent, so she is an interesting person. She grew up in a sportsy environment, and has done several teaching and school jobs before this one, so she is experienced. Also she grew up on the Arlington-Somerville line, so she is familiar with the Somerville environment. We think you’ll agree, as we have already found out, she will be interesting to learn about.

First of all, students have been concerned about the school lunch. We asked Mrs. Skipper what she planned to do about the lunches, figuring she might be able to do something about it.

“What students eat is so important. Having access to food that both is healthy and students enjoy eating is the key,” she says. It seems that she is interested in seeing what students’ ideas are for fixing the school lunches. We were curious about how the school lunches were when she was in school, to see if it had changed. So, we asked her that question.

She answered, “My mother worked in the cafeteria where I went to school, and my uncle delivered the lunches, so I couldn’t complain much about the food.” She told us that they had pizza on Tuesdays and Fridays, and it was her favorite.

We were also wondering if she was a sports fan, so we asked: “Did you or do have a favorite sport?” and “Did you play sports?”

“I actually loved to watch all sports, but especially football and hockey,” she told us. “I grew up in a family where my Uncle Frank loved to watch sports. At dinner, we would talk about how the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox were doing.” Growing up, Mrs. Skipper also played a lot of sports. She pitched and played shortstop and third base in softball, small forward in basketball, and goalie in soccer. After graduating from Tufts University, she was in the women’s softball league as well.

Emma, 12 years old, and Ellie, 10, told her “ballet is the supreme sport of all people,” wondering what she might think of this statement. “Dancers are incredibly strong and disciplined. Ballet takes so much focus, strength, conditioning, and balance. It certainly is a supreme sport that tests both your mind and body!”

We wanted to know what she thought of homework, to see if she would try to decrease the amount of it. She thinks that homework is important to review what the student had learned today and to prepare them for tomorrow. She also thinks there shouldn’t be too much homework, because students should always have enough time to do after school activities and do their homework while still getting the right amount of rest. “It’s all about balance,” she says.

Wondering if she was an artsy person, we asked her: “Most people agree that students should learn as much science, technology, engineering, and math as possible. Do you think art, writing, and humanities are just as important? How do you think we can find time for everything?”

“It would be a sad world if we did not spend time learning and appreciating the arts, the written word, and history!” she says. She thinks that projects that tie together science, technology, math, writing, history, and art and music are powerful ways to get the brain working. She suggests to google Leonardo da Vinci to learn about someone who loved all these subjects, and mastered many of them!

“Speaking of art and its importance for you and the world, what is your favorite color?” we asked.

“I love the color green!” she says. “Green is so alive and vibrant.” She likes the springtime when the buds start to sprout, and the grass starts to grow. “Green is nature’s way of saying ‘I’m alive and so happy about it’!”

Andrew Churchill, Ellie’s brother and a scholar at the Somerville high school, wanted us to ask, “How does your own experience as a student affect your decisions today?”

“Early on, my mom impressed upon me that working hard in school, and learning as much as I could, would help me do what I wanted in life,” she says. She explains that she had great teachers through elementary, middle, and high school. “They were able to spark in me a love for learning,” she says.

She explains that at Tufts, she set out to be a teacher so she could make a difference on student’s lives, the way her teachers made a positive difference in hers. Then, she became a principal so that she could support teachers and students. Now, she became a superintendent so that she could support principals, teachers, and students! “As usual, my mom was 100 percent right!” she says. “School has helped me do exactly what I love and want to do in life.”

Steve Churchill, Ellie’s father, had this question: “Why did you want to come to Somerville?”

Mrs. Skipper grew up on the Arlington/Somerville line, near Dilboy field. She learned to swim at the Dilboy MDC. She learned to bowl at Sacco’s. She worked through high school and college at Johnnie’s Foodmaster supermarket. She even went to Tufts University!

“I have such great memories of growing up in Somerville, and coming back to be the superintendent is really a dream.

“I love the spirit here and the sense of pride in Somerville! SPS is a strong district with such dedicated staff, students, and parents.”

Mrs. Skipper studied Latin and Greek at Tufts and Harvard, so we asked, “What do you think are the most important things you can learn from Greek and Roman civilizations?”

She explains that she thinks both civilizations have contributed to our art, architecture, language, dates, calendar, and even our legal system! Also, if she had to pick one thing, it would be our sense of the idea that people need to get a say in government—democracy.

“As we all know, last winter was a terrible winter, weather-wise. Do you think you should put a rule about snow or cold if it’s for example less than 15 degrees that students shouldn’t have school?”

“I think New England weather can be very tricky and I don’t think one rule would be enough to cover the conditions for which we would call off school,” she says. But, she promises to work with the mayor and always put the safety of students first in whatever decision they make.

“What can we learn from this harsh winter and having to go to school until the end of June?”

Mrs. Skipper explains that she thinks the past few winters have been harsh with cold temperatures and lots of snow. “I think we have learned just how unpredictable New England weather really is and that it is better to start school before Labor Day to build a few extra days on the calendar. Let’s hope Mother Nature is nicer to us next year!”

Mrs. Mary Skipper is our first woman superintendent. She grew up in a sporty background and has had several school-related jobs. Also, she has grown up in the Somerville area, so she is familiar with it. We are very excited to find what more she will bring to us.

Ellie and Ryann are 5th grade students at the Healey School. They have been hanging out at the middle-school Writers’ Den for 5th through 8th graders at the Somerville Public Library since a year ago when, as fourth graders, they crashed it. The Writers’ Den meets on Monday evenings and welcomes motivated young writers. Contact Alan (aball@tuftsmedicalcenter.org) for more information.