It was the early 1970s at the all-female Mount Holyoke College, and Cheryl Maloney could see women all around her exploring the recently found freedom to explore career paths traditionally closed to them - fields like biology, mathematics, and business.
But Maloney, who will take the reins of the Weston's public schools on July 1 as superintendent, felt drawn toward the noble but well-worn path of education. In it, she felt she was choosing to change the world.
"I was right on that," said Maloney. "When you see a kid grow intellectually, there is nothing that beats that feeling as a teacher. Nothing."
The district's assistant superintendent since 2003, Maloney will have 2,363 students to watch over when she takes over for the retiring superintendent, Alan Oliff. The School Committee voted unanimously to offer her the job, and they agreed on the contract Nov. 19. Maloney will receive an annual base salary of $159,000.
"It came down to believing that she is a proven leader who knows our system and its goals, and it was apparent to us that she was the right person to take our schools to the next level," said Maryanne Rogers, chairwoman of the School Committee. "We conducted an internal search and felt that Cheryl was the best person for the job, and we decided that it was best to hire her rather than conducting an outside search. We feel she is better than what we could find outside."
Rogers and Edward Heller, the committee's vice chairman, said Maloney is the right person to tackle such upcoming challenges as the continuing impact of rising healthcare costs on school budgets, and the task of either renovating or replacing the Field School.
This is Maloney's 22d year in the Weston schools, and she said she has stayed because the district has allowed her to feel supported and encouraged to try new things. Weston is unique not because it has more financial resources to put into its educational system, but because it's willing to invest in creative ideas broached by staff, she said.
"It's not just about money. It's about being open to approaching things in a vibrant way," Maloney said. She likes being in a district in which teachers once structured an interdisciplinary unit based on "A Civil Action," a book by Jonathan Harr, as an innovative way of teaching about environmental chemistry, the legal system, and community response to incidents of industrial pollution like the Woburn case presented in the book. Another day during her 16 years as a Weston High School history teacher found her dressed as Madame de Pompadour, overseeing a simulation of an 18th-century French salon.
Maloney said that she wants to have discussions with teachers, parents, students, staff, and community members before announcing any specific changes.
"I want to step back and assess the progress we've made in some areas, and in other areas where we'd like to improve," she said.
In general, Maloney said, she wants to find ways to use technology to collect data and focus it on ways to help the district's students. Broadening the scope of the curriculum is important to her, too - she's looking forward to a trip to Uganda with 11 other members of the school district to visit the educators who came to Weston earlier this year. The world is becoming increasingly globalized, she noted, not just in terms of the economy, but in classrooms too, where it is not uncommon to find students who were born outside the United States or who have foreign-born parents.
Though she didn't study abroad during her own schooling, Maloney said, she believes it's important for students to learn about how the rest of the world lives. It's a given today, Maloney said, that "you're going to have interactions with other countries. Why not put more energy into the positive ones, especially when the negative ones will happen anyway?"
Maloney, 56, lives in Wellesley with her husband, Paul. They have two grown children. The soon-to-be superintendent likes to rollerblade around her neighborhood when not working, but you won't find her doing it in unfamiliar territory.
"I'm not really good at stopping," Maloney confesses. "I have to hug trees every once in a while."
Her other loves are traveling, skiing, and participating in a book club she's attended for 15 years. She is currently reading "Out Stealing Horses," a novel by Per Petterson.
Stephanie V. Siek can be reached via e-mail at ssiek@globe.com.
