Young To Enter Amid High Expectations

In about six weeks, Jeffrey M. Young, the grey-haired and silver-tongued former Newton superintendent, will take the helm of Cambridge Public Schools.

Although his appointment as superintendent was met with controversy when the School Committee passed over Deputy Superintendent Carolyn L. Turk—a black woman and longtime leader in the district—for the position, Young will likely enjoy an early honeymoon, with even some of Turk’s backers expecting tremendous results from him.

“There are huge expectations for him to do great things,” said Alfred F. Fantini, the senior School Committee member and one of the two who voted for Turk. “People...really think some amazing things are going to happen.”

The high expectations for Young reflect his previous successes leading school districts in Newton, Lexington, and Lynnfield. But in Cambridge, the Harvard-trained educator with a passion for English literature will be confronted with challenges unlike those he has seen in his three decade career: how to educate an extraordinarily diverse student population while simultaneously navigating the politics of an urban school district.

A ROUNDABOUT PATH

Young, who has led Newton schools for over a decade, had not always intended to be an educator.

“First I wanted to be a rock star,” Young said. “And then I wanted to be a basketball player, but I wasn’t tall enough for that.”

Instead, the Brandeis English major hoped to pursue his passion for writing. But after a short-lived career that involved working as a ghostwriter, textbook contributor, and greeting card composer, Young decided that he “probably wasn’t going to make it” and decided to go back to school.

After completing a master’s degree from Tufts, Young began teaching English at Brookline High School, a period he recalls as the “the happiest days of my life.” After working on a curriculum assignment at a Brookline elementary and middle school, Young became drawn to the work he could do as a district administrator.

“Even though I would be sacrificing some of the day-to-day relationships with a smaller number of people, there was the opportunity to have a broader influence on education throughout the community,” he said.

He earned a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and joined the Lynnfield Public Schools in 1988, eventually serving as the district’s superintendent before moving on to Lexington and then Newton, the community he had lived in for over 30 years. The Newton district, the ninth largest in the state, serves approximately 11,500 students, or nearly twice as many as Cambridge.

Paul S. Stein, a Newton district administrator, said that although the city is considerably less diverse than Cambridge, Newton’s large size and various neighborhoods present “a unique set of demographics.” He added that the suburban community is actually far more socioeconomically diverse than is commonly thought. Approximately 30 percent of Newton students are minorities, versus 60 percent in Cambridge.

Young said that one of his most significant accomplishments in Newton was his effort to guarantee academic excellence in all of the schools across the city. The challenge, he said, was standardizing the district’s curriculum without inhibiting teachers’ creativity.

“It was a hard thing to do because it was a major change, and it was a major change that many teachers were uncomfortable with,” said Susan R. Heyman, a member of the Newton Public School Committee.

Heyman added that she thought Young handled the challenge well, saying that although Newton does have standardized curricula, it has not become “a school system that just [teaches] on the textbook.”

Geoff N. Epstein, another member of the Newton School Committee, said Young also had success in improving Newton’s special education programs.

“When he came in, special ed was just regular special ed, nothing special about it,” Epstein said. “He brought a lot of attention to that. He ensured that we didn’t just stick to the state mandate but went beyond it.”

But Epstein criticized Young for focusing too much on below-average students and not enough on high-achievers, emphasizing what he saw as the district’s neglect of math and science.

Young, who defended Newton’s math and science programs, pointed out that “the great challenge that Newton faces is a budgetary one”—one that, according to Epstein, Young will not face in Cambridge.

Cambridge spent $24,467 per student in the 2006-2007 school year, while Newton spent $14,524, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education.

THE PATH FORWARD

School Committee members said that while Young’s extensive experience in education is impressive, he will have his work cut out for him in Cambridge, both educationally and politically.

School Committee member Marc C. McGovern said that Cambridge faces a host of challenges, including an achievement gap documented in the district’s standardized test scores.

“For a district of our size and with our resources, why we continue to have a percentage of our district struggle is beyond me. We haven’t figured it out yet,” McGovern said. “There have been many superintendents who have come here, who haven’t been able to figure it out. Hopefully [Young] will have the answer.”

Although Cambridge does have significant financial resources, its “socioeconomic status is artificially heightened” by the presence of wealthy residents affiliated with local universities and other industries, said Robert S. Peterkin, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools.

Peterkin, who has worked with Young in the past, added that the disparity in wealth—which is generally wider in Cambridge than it is in Newton—contributes to the district’s achievement gap.

“I think the thing that Jeff will find different is the diversity of Cambridge Public Schools,” Peterkin said. “What he’ll find is more diversity of student body, of community, and of programs that he will need to learn quickly and evaluate.”

Young said that his decision to come to Cambridge was based on a strong desire to work in an urban district, something he called “a professional challenge.”

“Urban school districts are really the great area of challenge and opportunity in the state and the country right now,” Young said.

But Fantini said Young’s lack of experience with urban schools was a potential concern.

“This is going to be a real challenge, and how he navigates that is really going to be the test,” he said. “That’s the biggest unanswered question right now.”

The other test for Young, Fantini added, will be his ability to please the district’s often fractious constituencies.

“We have a lot of interest groups in Cambridge,” Fantini said.

But McGovern said he thought Young would be a good fit because “he wants to be here.” Young will be taking a $30,000 pay cut to come to Cambridge.

“I think he is someone who philosophically and educationally is very much in line with the values that we hold here in Cambridge,” he said.

OUTLINING AN AGENDA

Most School Committee members said they expect that Young’s first priority will be improving the district’s middle school education.

The committee formed a commission in 2007 to formally study Cambridge’s sixth through eighth grades, especially the problems of small peer groups, limited opportunities for faculty collaboration, and a shortage of subject-specific teachers in some schools.

The committee passed a motion this year stipulating that the new superintendent present a set of recommendations on the issue within the first 100 days of his term.

“We’re eager to have a conversation and implement something regarding the middle schools. That’s one of the first things we’re going to hand over to him,” Fantini said. “That may be the first major critical decision he makes.”

School Committee members also said they hope Young will work to improve special education, as well as address the debate over controlled choice, the district’s method of placing students that attempts to establish socioeconomic diversity in all schools.

But Young said that he plans to become better acquainted with Cambridge before making any concrete suggestions. To prepare for his upcoming transition into Cambridge, Young has visited schools, attended city events, and spoken with a number of community and district leaders—including nearly all the members of the School Committee in individual meetings.

“I think it’s a terrible mistake for a superintendent to come into a job and expect to change a whole system according to his or her own preferences,” he said. “The right approach is to take some time to learn about the culture of the schools and the community. It’s not about tearing things down and creating something brand new.”

—Staff writer Michelle L. Quach can be reached at mquach@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Sofia E. Groopman can be reached at segroopm@fas.harvard.edu.