Chief had big plans for schools

A month and a half before she died, Katie Spinos reflected on her first six months as Burlington superintendent and considered her long-term plans to improve the school system.

"I am confident that we will strengthen teaching and learning and make Burlington schools even better than imagined," Spinos wrote in a June 26 letter to the School Committee that prefaced a six-page self-evaluation. She told the committee members she wanted to meet with each of them individually to "hear your hopes and dreams for the Burlington schools."

"Thanks for everything," she added. "May the summer ahead bring good health, quality time with family and friends, and joy."

Spinos died last week at 48 from a type of anemia that she had lived with for 20 years and that worsened suddenly this month, her family said. Her death shocked friends and colleagues in Burlington, cut short her plans for the schools, and left the School Committee scrambling to fill a leadership void less than three weeks before the start of school.

"We're all stunned," said School Committee chairman Stephen A. Nelson, who had been arranging a meeting with Spinos to discuss the coming year -- each was in the midst of sending a son off to college -- when she became ill.

Nelson called Spinos a visionary who was constantly exploring new and better methods of delivering education. She spent 7 1/2 years as assistant superintendent in Burlington before succeeding retiring superintendent James Picone last winter, and she wasted little time making changes. By the summer, she had already sold the School Committee, administration, and union leaders on a plan to reorganize curriculum leadership and improve the transition between elementary and middle school. She had also surveyed every teacher in town on the state of the schools and planned to incorporate their feedback into a set of long-term plans she hoped to present this fall.

The school board members who unanimously voted to hire Spinos last year were excited about the future of the 280-teacher, 3,500-student system under her leadership. They believed she could elevate a well-funded school system with a strong reputation into a state leader for excellence and innovation; they feared only that they might lose her later to a larger district, a state appointment, or a consulting career.

"I was thinking to myself, we've got somebody who's going to be here for a long time and make a big, big impact," Nelson said.

Instead of considering long-term plans, the School Committee held an emergency session Thursday night to discuss preliminary ideas for proceeding without Spinos. Should the committee conduct a nationwide search for a replacement, it could take six months and cost as much as $25,000, Nelson said.

As a candidate last year, Spinos was rare among assistant superintendents in that she had administrative experience with budgets and school construction as well as with curriculum development and classroom teaching, having overseen the former during a decade as assistant superintendent in Newton and the latter during her years as assistant in Burlington. Earlier, Spinos earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in special education and education at Boston College and worked as a special education teacher.

Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, met Spinos two decades ago when he was Concord schools chief and hired her through BC to perform research and analysis for his district. Over the years, he watched her evolve from a specialist at crunching data into a multifaceted leader who "plays from the heart" in shaping education.

"She's a remarkable individual," Scott said. "She's a person of intellect with a contagious smile, and she had just a good will toward her colleagues and the people she worked with. She was all about what was in the best interest of everybody."

Spinos was especially interested in international education and "wowed everybody" at a statewide conference three weeks ago with a panel she led on preparing students for the global economy, Scott said. Spinos had a statewide reputation and had previously served as chairwoman of the state superintendents association's professional development committee, Scott said.

As an assistant in Burlington, Spinos created a mentor program to help young teachers develop and avoid burnout. She also was an adept grant writer who won money for the district to establish international travel and study programs, Nelson said. Spinos, sometimes fiery in her passion for education, won over officials, administrators, and educators with her dedication and commitment. She sometimes logged 100-hour weeks, and she made frequent appearances at local schools, community events, and parent meetings. She reached out to town officials to improve the municipal-school relationship on the budget and other matters.

"She's go-go-go," said Albert L. Fay Jr., chairman of the Board of Selectmen and the father of a teacher in the district. He admired Spinos as a "wonderful, wonderful woman" and an agent for change.

"There was no baloney there," Fay added. "She knew what she wanted. And if she thought something was a waste, she did away with it."

One of Spinos's first major moves was to propose curriculum-coordinator positions for each of the four major subject areas from kindergarten through eighth grade; the new coordinators will roam the district this year to conduct demonstrations and work with teachers, with the goal of improving classroom lessons and strengthening the grade-to-grade transition. To obtain money for the positions, Spinos eliminated some administrative functions held by lead teachers at the middle school. Change like that can be unpopular, Nelson said, but Spinos worked hard to win support for the plan at all levels.

"It was just the tip of the iceberg for her," Nelson said. "She was looking forward to coming back to the School Committee in the fall with her more comprehensive vision."

Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.