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Date: 8/17/2021
GRANBY – Growing up Stephen Sullivan didn’t envision himself as the superintendent of the small Western Massachusetts town of Granby.
Sullivan, who grew up in and continues to reside in Holyoke, said while he never envisioned himself being superintendent, he always knew he wanted to work with students. “I always envisioned working with students. Growing up I was playing sports, as I got a little older I was coaching, tutoring, things like that,” he said. Sullivan said it was while he was coaching that he began his career in education.
“I was actually coaching high school boys soccer in Holyoke when my first job opportunity in education opened up,” he said. “I don’t know if I would have said at that point I wanted to be superintendent, I was content because I had the opportunity to impact so many students.”
He said it was after “six or seven years” of teaching that he took a leave of absence and decided to move abroad. It was while he was away that he began to explore the idea of education administrator. “I moved to Spain and taught English as a tutor there. While I was away, I thought if I got my administration credit I could have a broader impact,” he said.
He eventually went on to become the principal of the Granby Junior Senior High School, and most recently was selected to become the superintendent of the Granby Public School District. Sullivan, who began serving as superintendent in July, said he was happy serving as principal when the position for superintendent became available.
“I wasn’t looking to leave my job as principal, I was not pursuing other positions, it just happened that this position became available,” he said. “I felt like this was an opportunity I had to take for myself. I was very happy in my role, but it was something worth exploring.”
He said one aspect of the interview process that took him by surprise was the amount of support he’d received from the community. “I was very humbled by the support I received from the community, it was really unexpected,” he said. “I’m happy to be in this community.”
Sullivan said one of his goals for the district under his tenure was to grow the district. “I think if I could probably explain it in one word it would be growth. We work under the motto if we can be better today than we were yesterday, we’re headed in the right direction,” he said. “The word has a far reaching grasp, academics, curriculum, teaching, to assess social emotional learning.” He added that he felt the district was in a great position to grow, something he would keep in mind while creating his entry plan for the 2021-2021 school year.
He said as an internal candidate he knew the district well, but now saw the district in a new light as superintendent. “Looking at the school district through the lens of superintendent, you might see things you didn’t before,” he said. Sullivan explained this was another reason why he would rely on the input of stakeholders such as community members as part of his entry plan.
“I intend to conduct listening and learning tours across the community. There’ll be other things, document review, assessing areas of need [and] working on and identifying areas of strength,” he said. “I want to hear from stakeholders, students, employees, alumni. I want to hear the good, bad, [and] the ugly. We need the honest and open feedback to move closer and to move around growth.”
In addition to having a different prospect as an internal candidate, he said he also offered a unique perspective as a former classroom teacher and principal. “I do think the perspective I had as a principal is helpful, making that transition from classroom to administration. I do think I’m starting to recognize some similarities there, having that experience – that likely means something to our teachers and staff,” he said. “They understand someone in the superintendent role has also been in the classroom, dealt with student discipline, has been the leader of a school.”
Sullivan went on to add that superintendents “have often come from being special education directors [or] business managers.” However, this, he said, had been changing in recent years. “Just in Western Mass., there’s six or seven brand new superintendents and many have been principals previously. That is starting to shift, people are starting to recognize there are some similarities,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that while he offered a unique perspective, he also had areas that he could grow in, such as learning about elementary education. “My experience in school leadership will serve me well in this role, [but] don’t have as much experience in elementary [education,]” he said. “That’s a place I want to be purposeful and start my learning, asking questions, understanding elementary education, what works, where are our strengths and opportunities for growth.”
Sullivan said taking the reins after a year of what was largely remote learning and making the transition into a school year while still in the midst of a pandemic presented challenges. “I think that, of course, there will be a multitude of challenges in this role, I don’t know that it is post-pandemic at this point,” he said, referencing the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s updated mask guidance.
He said with the delta variant “becoming the prominent variant,” he anticipated that the district would take slow steps and be cautious to protect the health of staff and students. “Those are things we’re taking into account, I would anticipate us probably erring on the side of caution, taking a more conservative approach,” he said. “Taking those steps so students can be in person, so they don’t have to go back to remote. If there is a mask mandate, distancing, those are things we need to do to educate our youth in the building,”
He said while “some people may not agree with masking guidelines” he hoped that the community understood why it was important. “I hope people can understand that we may need them to get people back in school,” he said, adding that the district already had “a little bit of a blueprint” when dealing with social distancing and masking guidelines. “In some ways, especially around masks, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. My personal opinion is if there is a mask mandate, it’s a pretty small price to pay to get people back in the building,” he said, as that was where the “most high quality teaching and learning happens.”
He added there were both “pros and cons” to being an internal candidate. Sullivan said while an outside candidate can “come in with a new perspective,” the drawback was they didn’t know the people of the community. He said he felt “knowing the system, the people and how the people communicate and the systems work” would work to his advantage. However, he recognized there were areas in which the district could improve. One of those areas, Sullivan explained, was strengthening partnerships with local businesses and organizations to help “equip students with those skills so they have a competitive advantage when applying for jobs and applying to college.”
“I think one area that I would like to work on strengthening is some of our partnerships with local organizations, local businesses, local colleges and universities. There’s an opportunity for us to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce, which we haven’t been in the past,” he said. “I want the students in Granby to have the competitive advantage.”
While he said he’s unsure what exactly that means right now, it’s something he plans to spend time addressing during his tenure as superintendent. “I don’t know if that means new certifications, new courses. It might just be a shift in the way we approach things, it may be a minor shift, it may be a business that is just looking to have students and they’ll do some of the training,” he said. “We have the human capital, we have students who want to learn and want to work. This is the next generation, so how are we preparing them to contribute to society beyond taking MCAS [tests] or book reports? What contribution can they begin making that we can support them in acquiring?”
Sullivan emphasized his happiness to be serving as the superintendent and said he was excited to see the district grow. “I’m thrilled to be chosen as the candidate. We have an opportunity to really grow and have good things happen,” he said. “We have an opportunity in Granby, the schools could be great – better than they are now, and that’s our goal, to always be improving.”