Shaps finds footing at MUFSD

Written by Paige Rentz

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:48

As his first month at the helm of the Mamaroneck School District winds down, Dr. Robert Shaps sat down with The Sound & Town Report to discuss his experiences in his new position as superintendent of schools.

The first order of business for Shaps has been immersing himself in the district. He said his most important step is learning about schools and community before he begins to recommend or promote any changes in the district.
“I’m hoping to learn as much as I can in the first six months while we kind of begin the school year so that I can be informed in terms of promoting recommendations or facilitating conversations about change,” he said. “I want to be mindful of that.”

Shaps said his work thus far has taken the shape of learning, framing and guiding: “learning about people, the history of the district, what’s happening,” he explained, “framing as in defining what work we need to do and actually guiding the development of that work.”

This strategy has taken many shapes and forms. Already he has met with the Board of Education to begin shaping district goals, a process that he said will continue through the end of the summer. He said this preparation for the new year isn’t strictly about uncovering challenges. “As a new leader, I’m entering into an organization that has a history before and a present and future. So it’s about how do I understand prior successes and challenges and then guide how we prioritize the work going forward.”

He has been able to facilitate several days of work with administrators and directors to organize, plan, and discuss the work that lies ahead. “How does the work support the continuing improvement of the school district?” he asked. He said that the district must learn to build on past successes and strengths, and in that process, identify challenges and understand how to organize its approach, resources and efforts to improve teaching and learning.

Before his official arrival on July 1, Shaps had the opportunity to visit each school and see it as a unique place, he said.

“What I’ve learned through my visits to schools is that this is an extraordinary district comprised of talented teachers and administrators, engaged parents and citizens in the community and students who are eager to learn,” he said. He said he is working to learn the best ways to facilitate and foster the continued development of that experience to fully develop the district as a premier district.

In observing and learning about the district, he has become excited about some of the changes he’s seen in moving from the smaller Hastings-on-Hudson school district to Mamaroneck, which is almost four times larger of his previous employer.

One interesting aspect for Shaps has been in the adjustment from having conversations with an elementary principal to having conversations with four elementary principals. “The reason it’s exciting is because it’s really talking about how do I look at my role in terms of a larger system,” he said. “So that means, what are the unique challenges of operating four neighborhood schools? How do we promote conversations about an elementary program in that context?”

Shaps said it demonstrated for him a shift in how he thinks about his role and about the district. “I think the work, the problems, the challenges in elementary schools are in some ways consistent…but it’s in thinking about it in terms of four unique educational settings.”

Though he may find it a little more difficult to be the hands-on kind of superintendent he has been in two other districts, he said he is pleased to have three wonderfully-talented assistant superintendents with specific areas of expertise whom he can rely on and engage with in terms of their work and build a collaborative team.

Please register or login to add your comments to this article.

HomeTown Blogs

Get the latest news from your community at HomeTown Happenings, the new blog from the HomeTown Media Group. Check here for breaking news and exclusive online content from HomeTown's editorial team.

Subscribe to HomeTown Happenings

HomeTown Blogs

From the field