In search of a school chief

The School Committee is due to select the next superintendent Jan. 31, winding up a four-month search that cost $20,000 and drew 30 applicants.

The final three candidates each spent 12-hour days this month meeting with town officials, parents, teachers, and students. They were then interviewed by the School Committee. Here is what they had to say:

Littleton Superintendent Paul A. Livingston will croon ''Singing in the Rain" if that's what it takes to pass a tax override.

Livingston told the Needham School Committee during a Jan. 12 interview that both persistence and a sense of humor are necessary in a ''successful superintendent."

He said that in his push for a $14 million middle school building project the Littleton cable station filmed him touring the aging school. A former band director, he showcased the leaky roof and his vocal prowess with the Gene Kelly number.

Livingston said he promotes the schools by schmoozing over coffee with town officials, appearing on local cable shows, and meeting with civic groups and even condominium associations.

He said his effort to implement a Latin program in the sixth and seventh grades demonstrated his tenacity. He said he saw the program as a way to boost both English and foreign language skills. He also hoped it would stem enrollment losses to a nearby charter school. In the face of foes who called Latin a dead language, Livingston waged a successful two-year campaign in which he talked with parents and wrote letters to the local paper.

Livingston touted his greatest professional achievements as helping merge ''three disparate communities" when he was an assistant superintendent in the Nashoba Regional School District from 1994 to 1998. He also touted Littleton's rising MCAS scores over his five-year tenure. Noting that Needham already is among the top districts in the state, he said he would push to increase its scores even higher.

Livingston exuded confidence as the interview progressed, sitting on the edge of his seat and sometimes taking notes as the School Committee members asked questions.

He described the role of a superintendent as a ''collaborator" who spurs the community to work together.

''I don't come to Needham with an agenda," he said, envisioning his first months on the job as involving ''a lot of listening, connecting with people, and getting up to speed with where Needham is at."

Carver Superintendent Patricia B. Grenier described herself as a ''natural teacher" during her interview on Jan. 10 with the Needham School Committee.

But for many years, she felt disconnected from high school students, having formerly worked as an elementary principal and a superintendent in a K-8 district. Last year, she and the Carver High School principal together taught seniors a course on leadership.

She described the experience as ''humbling," as she faced the challenge of motivating students who had little interest in the subject.

''It put me in a place where teachers are every day," she said in a phone interview.

In her interview with the School Committee, Grenier described her management style as trying to make employees feel invested in their work. She gave as an example leadership teams she has established among custodians and bus drivers.

Asked to define the role of a superintendent, she responded: ''It's to be everyone to everybody, isn't it?"

Grenier elaborated by saying that it included being a member of a ''global community, a colleague, and a peer."

''The superintendent," she said, ''is ultimately an advocate for students and kids."

Grenier frequently incorporated anecdotes about her family into her answers.

She said that although her father had dropped out of high school, he impressed upon her the importance of education. ''I was the prototypical student. I liked school. I liked studying," she said.

She said her daughter, now 24, embraced that same drive, but school for her son, 26, was more ''challenging and painful."

''I've always been grateful to teachers who found joy in helping him pass his tests," she said.

Grenier said during the first months on the job, her goal would be to build relationships both in the schools and in the town at large.

''The inclusive nature of Needham public schools expands far beyond the infrastructure of the school," she told the committee. ''The message was clear when I met the town officials who said, 'Remember, we're involved, too.' "

Grenier also is a finalist in Barnstable's superintendent search.

''Both communities offered very unique opportunities," she said in a phone interview, adding that she applied to Needham because it was an ''outstanding district" that mirrors her experiences as the Sudbury assistant superintendent.

If she got the job, she said, she would move from the Cape to Needham. ''I believe a superintendent needs to be that close to the community."

Shrewsbury High School principal Daniel E. Gutekanst said he embraces the notion of ''empowering youth."

He has held a ''mini-town meeting" in which he said Shrewsbury teenagers spoke frankly about what they wanted incorporated into school life. When one student noted that the new high school building lacked public art, Gutekanst assigned her the responsibility of painting a mural in the cafeteria. He said she experienced both the thrill and anxiety of being in charge.

Gutekanst told the Needham School Committee during his interview on Jan. 17 that, as a manager, he looks for ways to help natural leaders to come to the fore. ''If you give the work to the people, they can do great things," he said.

Rather than focusing his answers just on the high school, Gutekanst made it a point to highlight leadership roles he'd taken on for the entire K-12 system. He said he cochaired a school start-time study; addressed the town -- at the Shrewsbury superintendent's request -- on the budget needs of all the schools; and hosted a community forum, called ''Building Respect, Empowering Youth," that included the police chief, doctors, Boy Scout leaders, and town officials.

He remained poised throughout the interview, often displaying his sense of humor. When asked about how he would foster leadership, Gutekanst made reference to the recent rash of retirements among top Needham staff members. ''This is an opportunity for the new superintendent to sit down with veteran administrators, although it seems like some of the veteran administrators have only been here two years."

The principal said he saw himself as an education ''advocate," noting that he frequently writes legislators and has spoken at international conferences about US education reform, including one last month in Beijing. ''What I've learned is that other countries are fascinated with 'No Child Left Behind' in the US," he said.

Gutekanst said he was the ''lone voice" when he testified on Beacon Hill against establishing a mandatory community service credit. ''If you're going to do this, how are you going to fund it? Is it the right message to tell kids to do good?"

Gutekanst does, though, encourage students to volunteer.

He said that Shrewsbury teenagers work at a Worcester soup kitchen called the Mustard Seed, where they serve patrons and later clean up.

''Some students are turned off by the experience, but if they don't do it, they won't learn something about themselves," Gutekanst said.

His mantra: ''We will not grow or learn unless we get uncomfortable. An athlete will tell you it's not without sweating and grunting that they get bigger."