Interim superintendent is a principal at heart
By Kate Daly Contributing Writer

PHOTO/KATE DALY Marlborough High School Principal and interim Superintendent Mary Carlson and her youngest nephew, Michael Reilly, stand in front of one of two bulletin boards in her office that are filled with photos of students. Reilly is a sophomore at the High School.

Marlborough - Mary Carlson will tell you she bleeds orange and black, and she just might be right.

A graduate of Marlborough High School (MHS), she came back as an elementary school physical education teacher 32 years ago, and after a variety of teaching and administrative jobs, she is juggling two roles: high school principal, a job she's had for seven years, and interim superintendent, filling in until the School Committee hires a replacement for Barbara McGann.

She agreed to take the second job in part because it is temporary.

"I knew about the job," Carlson said, having interned with a previous superintendent. "I also knew I didn't want the job."

That didn't stop her stepping in where she was needed when McGann resigned, then was suspended by the School Committee.

"I think for people it's easier when you have somebody you know who takes over …," she said. "I'm hoping because they know me it makes the transition easier."

Anyone who's been in the district for any length of time knows of Carlson. After she finished college, she taught in Westford for six months, then returned to Marlborough.

"Right after that, a job opened in Marlborough, and I've been here ever since," she said. "That's where my heart is."

After teaching physical education in the elementary schools, traveling among them, she later taught at the High School, then at Marlborough Middle School.

Her next role was in developing health curriculum for the whole district. From there, she went into administration, working as assistant principal in the High School for eight years until she moved to the principal's office.

"I guess I have a personality that says, 'Why not?'" Carlson said. "I feel a challenge is placed before you for a reason."

Before superintendent duties started taking up so much of her time, Carlson said, she was usually in the hall greeting students in the morning and often took lunch duty. She attends all the games and performances she can.

"For me, it's all about the kids," she said, pointing to two bulletin boards filled with photos of and cards from students. "I guess no matter what role you hold in education, the focus is on the kids. In the superintendent's job, you're physically removed from the kids."

That distance from the students and her retirement, which she plans to take in a couple of years, are two reasons she doesn't want to be permanent superintendent.

She had just received e-mail from a student who wanted to talk with her about colleges, and that is the kind of contact she loves, she explained.

"I can tell you: you have a bad day or a bad phone call, you can go out in the hall and talk to the kids and all of a sudden your day changes," Carlson said. "It's all about the kids and it's an exciting part of being in a high school."

More than that, her work in the High School gives her a chance to watch students grow.

"I see them coming in as the youngest kids in the school, and to see them grow and mature into amazing young men and women," she said. "I don't think it gets any better than this."

The needs of the district, though, explain why she stepped in while a search for a permanent superintendent continues. Carlson doesn't expect to have input into the selection process, but she said she will likely help acclimate the new superintendent. She also has some thoughts about what the district needs in a superintendent.

"I think they really need to have a familiarity in teaching and learning," she said. "You have to understand curriculum and assessment. I also think you have to have a passion and heart for the kids. I'd like to see a collaborative leader, someone who works and strategizes with the leadership team, the administrators. We have a solid system, but we also need someone who's going to take us to the next level."

Her conversation always returns to the students, even as she talks about administration.

"I think we provide amazing, amazing opportunities for kids," she said. "We've increased the number who apply to college and are accepted at two- and four-year colleges."

She rattled off information about the students, their scores, their challenges.

"High school is my passion," Carlson said. "I don't think there's anything better."