Watertown Should be an Attractive School District for Superintendents

Watertown should be an attractive school district for prospective superintendent candidates, said the man helping conduct the superintendent search – Glen Koocher, the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

Koocher met with a handful of parents Thursday morning at Hosmer School in the first of two public forums where he will gather input on what Watertown residents want to see in their next head of schools.

The attendees agreed the person must be able to understand what makes Watertown different from other communities – the diversity and how well groups get along.

Generally, the parents wanted to see a superintendent who listens to parents.

“Being open … being willing to work with parents (is important). (A previous superintendent) did not suffer fools gladly, and it did not work well,” said Fred Isaacs, a parent of three and treasures of the Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Council.

Experience as a teacher or other positions directly working with students was an important quality for the superintendent to have, the parents at the forum agreed. They do not mind if the person has a doctorate or not, and prior superintendent experience was not a must, although some wanted to find an experienced person.

Parents said they believe Watertown has some good programs, such as the full-day kindergarten, pre-Kindergarten and special education programs, which they want to see protected. Other areas could be improved.

A few parents said they would like to see more programs for advanced students. Others said science instruction in the early elementary school years is lacking.

Parents asked Koocher about the competition for superintendents. He said last year there were about 60 openings, and so far this year there are 35. He believes Watertown will attract applications.

“I’ve had a number of people come up to me and say the district is doing well, it doesn’t need to be blown up and rebuilt,” Koocher said. “It’s a nice town, almost affordable. (People say) how people in Watertown get along. It’s a good place to come and a good place to be.”

Koocher has not received any applications yet, but he said is not worried, because about 90 percent of candidates send in their information in the last week before the deadline, which is Feb. 16.

There will be a second public forum on Thursday Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at Watertown Middle School. Input will also be gathered from a survey that can be found on the Watertown Public School’s website, http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/.

Koocher said parents, staff and residents can contact him at gkoocher@masc.org or 617-733-0497.