Dr. Greer, One Of 2 Superintendent Finalists, Makes Her Case

Arlington MA

24 November, 2020

11:54 AM

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Your Arlington: Last Updated: 21 November 2020 Written by Judith Pfeffer Tenacious, communicative, innovative, collaborative, team-oriented and resilient – that is how Dr. Victoria Greer, one of two women under consideration to become the new superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, portrayed herself Thursday, Nov. 19. The School Committee met via remote technology for more than two hours to focus solely on interviewing Greer, until recently school superintendent in Sharon and previously assistant school superintendent in Cambridge. Earlier in the week, the candidate met virtually with town leaders and community members in Zoom forums. The School Committee interviewed the second finalist, Elizabeth Holman, on Friday, Nov. 20, and a summary will be published. The vacancy comes about because Dr. Kathy Bodie, superintendent since 2008, is to retire in June. She described herself as a natural leader unafraid to forge new pathways even as a primary-school student. Inspired by her teachers and supported by her African-American share-cropping family in her small town in the rural South, Brighton, Tenn., she decided to work in education at an early age. Even then helping to run a school social function, she selected as an escort a white male classmate, a choice supported by both families but opposed by school authorities. That opposition didn't stand; she and the boy – still a friend to this day – were the first inter-racial couple to publicly appear in a third-grade ceremony. "Do I have grit? Yes, I do. Do I give up? No, I don't," Greer said toward the end of the public interview Thursday, when asked how her early life influenced her adult career path. Seeks larger district At the beginning of the meeting, in her introductory statement, she said she had applied because she seeks "to grow into a larger district" -- Sharon has five campuses, whereas Arlington has 10 --and is a good match for "a community that has such an investment in education." She said she is an adherent of doing "a deep dive" into data and analyzing it, doing follow-up on issues and coming up with solutions structured with timelines and clear expectations, and of creating conditions in which employees can do their best toward the goal of "a positive outcome for each and every student." Two rounds of questions from committee members covered a wide range of subjects, such as leadership/management style, accomplishments, priorities, relations with stakeholders and her ability to take feedback as well as to give it. At certain points, members appeared to be speaking in general and also alluding to the fact that Greer was placed on leave without explanation in Sharon in September and has filed a complaint alleging discrimination, something she said she has never done before and hopes never to have to do again. She said that the job of a superintendent is a challenging one, that experiencing ongoing scrutiny and criticism is a given and that she is not overly defensive. "I am not a person who is easily offended," she said. "I will make mistakes. I am not perfect. I am open to feedback." 'Overcommunicates' If anything, she said, she overcommunicates and has learned, for example, that though she might send email to staffers at 3 a.m., she has learned to make clear that she does not expect those messages to be read by them in the predawn hours. She prefers to communicate with principals on a weekly basis, if not more often. "I like for the professional atmosphere to be professional" and said she works hard to build relationships with all parties such that people can "graciously and gracefully disagree." Member Kirsi Allison-Ampe noted the "engaged and involved" nature of the Arlington community, one that is "not always the most patient" with perceived wrong decisions or missteps. This includes but is not limited to individual families. Greer responded: "I'm a parent myself. I get it. I'm a mom. I respect parents advocating for their children. I just ask that it be done respectfully." Committee member Paul Schlichtman asked how she would build a better relationship with the dozens of APS students who opt to travel to and from their homes in Boston as part of the long-standing greater Boston Metco program. Greer said that such students do not always feel that they are truly part of the educational community. To address that, she said that in the past she has met with many of such families, including, since March, via Zoom. "The kids have to know that they're wanted [in their chosen schools]." Chief accomplishment Asked by member Bill Hayner to describe her biggest professional accomplishment, she specified seeing in Sharon a $163 million building through from design to construction that met the educational and environmental expectations of the 21st century. She said she is also proud of having implemented earlier this year a hybrid education model in grades K-12, though she acknowledged that while desks are mostly 6 feet apart, in certain instances they are only 3 or 4 feet apart. Asked for three areas in which she would recommend significant monetary investment in 2021, she listed addressing the anticipated learning gap from the pandemic, ensuring social-emotional readjustment back to on-campus instruction and continuing health-and-safety measures including personal protective equipment even after a Covid-19 vaccine becomes widely available. Once the pandemic recedes, she envisions physically visiting every campus once or twice a month, having frequent meetings in her office and even occasionally giving a lesson in an individual classroom. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.