‘Moving the needle’ in county public schools: Superintendent’s first academic year marked by challenges, rebuilding
"I inherited a system in crisis, a school system that was in crisis, it had every imaginable concern in it," Martirano said in an interview at the end of this school year, his first full academic year in charge of the state's sixth largest school district.
Martirano, 59, whose resume includes his tenure as state schools superintendent in
When he took the top leadership job, Martirano said he had a lot of healing to do in the school system and community.
"It was absolutely unimaginable to know system that I knew and worked in, to [see] the level of where it was. From the inside point of view it was worst than what I expected it to be," Martirano said. He said that the school system was "reeling emotionally" and that there was a great level of distrust.
Foose had been feuding for months with the school board over her leadership, which also drew fire from political and community leaders. She did not respond to a request for comment.
Since his return, Martirano has earned praise on several fronts, including a teacher's union annual job satisfaction survey where more than 92 percent of educators said they have confidence in his leadership, and from school board chairwoman
In a 57,000-student district that is growing by almost 1,000 students a year, Martirano has had to grapple with issues ranging from classroom crowding, redrawing neighborhood school boundary lines, an ugly hate-bias crime at
Facing steady enrollment growth and shifting student needs, the superintendent also has to find ways to sustain a high level of academic achievement, as measured by a battery of mandatory tests, in a district where parents demand quality education and accountability.
He also has taken on a
The superintendent, who regularly finds time to visit schools, said he remains resolute to combat mental health concerns through hiring additional professional staff, keeping school safety in the forefront of his mind and others but not making the schools feel like "police states" and helping students work through behavioral incidents with positive communication.
A teacher at heart
Martirano prides himself on being a teacher first and always.
"All I ever wanted to do was be a teacher, I wanted to make an impact," he said. "It was discouraged, it was actually discouraged [in college], 'you're the only guy who wants to be a teacher.' Everyone was pre this and pre that and everyone wanted to be an engineer."
Martirano's emphasis on mental health was highlighted during the budget session for the fiscal year that began
He said by having more staff members focused on mental health, they will identify signs of problems earlier. He said he wants to foster a compassionate and caring environment where individuals who are suffering in silence will be able to talk about what they're going through without having a stigma associated with it.
"I'm hell-bent on this, it's personal for me," said Martirano, whose wife, Silvanna, suffered from depression and anxiety, took her life in
In all his years as an educator, Martirano has not seen the volume of mental health instances or the levels of bullying and trauma that he sees now.
"I want to be known for one, [as the superintendent] who turned the school system around and created an empathetic environment of care and support and compassion to address mental health issues in our schools," he said.
Another priority is addressing school safety.
"You can never let your guard down first of all, it's almost like putting a pebble in your shoe so it's constant agitation," he said.
One of the first things Martirano did was analyze the various leadership structures in the school system.
"I was greatly disturbed ... one of the my gaps in that analysis was the lack of focus on safety and security," he said. "There was not a single position that reported directly to the superintendent about safety and security."
Martirano created a new position focused on security, appointing
Martirano is focused on maintaining a balance of law enforcement in the county schools so that the schools aren't viewed as "a police state."
"That causes me challenges because they are shifting between schools," Martirano said.
"Never dreamed I would be living in an era with great concern over school shootings," he said. "I went to school to become a teacher...not once was I trained to be a crisis manager."
When Martirano was principal of
"I've carried those experiences forward," he said. "It defines my outlook now as a superintendent, to keep safety in the forefront of all my thoughts," he said.
While in
While he did not want to leave
He also lost his own mother, who died of cancer when Martirano was 10. His father did not cope well and Martirano and his sister were placed into foster care.
"All of those experiences have made me who the man I am today," he said.
After Martirano moved back to
Martirano received undergraduate and graduate degrees from
'Grace and aplomb'
Vaillancourt, whose term on the school board is drawing to an end, said that Maritirano leads with "tremendous confidence" and professionalism.
"He's doing a great job, he walked into an extremely dysfunctional and messed up situation with tremendous grace and aplomb," Vaillancourt said. "He's got the expertise that we need and the attitude that we need."
More than 92 percent of educators expressed confidence in the leadership exhibited by Martirano, according to the results of the
During Foose's first year at superintendent, her confidence rating was 74 percent. In the year before she left, educators gave her a 10.8 percent confidence rating.
"I feel that we have been successful in moving the needle," Martirano said.
Martirano said he was "very proud" of his rating from teachers and that the survey showcases how the schools have improved.
Martirano did a "good job" of addressing morale by telling his story which "gave everyone an insight into who he was and where he was from," Morris said.
"One of the things he has continued is putting support staff back in the classrooms," Morris said. "You can see that it is one of his priorities."
The school system has added more paraeducators, service providers and lunch and recess monitors, Morris said. Paraeducators, or teacher aides, offer support and assist in providing instructional and non-instructional services to students and their families, according to the
Providing lunch and recess monitors allows teachers to have more time to prepare lesson plans and the students are benefiting from it, Martirano said.
Going forward, Morris said that union will continue to work very collaboratively with Martirano, especially with restorative justice programs. Under Martirano's leadership, the school system had implemented restorative justice practices for disciplining students and improving behavior in positive ways.
Vaillancourt said that Martirano has made the "school system a happily productive place to work at again."
"People do their best work when they are supported and respected and I believe our staff and our families feel that now more and more every day," Vaillancourt said.
Vaillancourt said she and Martirano don't see eye-to-eye on everything.
"He isn't just a 'yes man' and saying what people want to hear," Vaillancourt said. "He is doing the hard work."
Since Martirano assumed office in
"I set out to heal the organization and shift the culture of the organization," Martirano said.
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Six men accused by
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