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An award-winning educator shares lessons learned in the classroom and how they shape her approach as a superintendent.
By Tammy Mangus
“Be intentional. Be solution oriented. Be inspiring.” Every day I wake up, look in the mirror, and recite these three short sentences. They not only drive me to be a successful leader in my role as superintendent of the Monticello Central School District, but as an educator and role model to my children and the 3,000 students in my rural New York district.
Looking back on my career as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and now superintendent, I realized a handful of defining experiences in the classroom have made me the administrator I am today. Being a teacher taught me that the right approach, to accountability can go a long way, literacy can change a student’s life, and leaders may work long days—but it’s worth it.
True Leaders Step Up
My first teaching job was taking over the classroom of a beloved 10th-grade English teacher—in the middle of the school year, no less. I was a 25-year-old teaching newbie, so students looked at me as more of a substitute than their teacher. They interrupted me and were disrespectful during my lesson; I knew that this behavior could not continue.
I proclaimed my leadership in the classroom by standing on a desk to explain to these students I was not a substitute, I expected them to be learners, and they were going to be held accountable. It was as if a switch had been flipped. I gained the students’ respect and began to earn their trust.
Literacy Changes Lives
My teaching career began in the early 2000s, right when the dot-com bubble burst and education budgets were unpredictable. After a year in one district and two in another, I finally found my long-term teaching position as an English and drama teacher in a community filled with hard-working, blue-collar families. Coming from a family of eight and growing up in rural poverty, I could relate to my students on a personal level. This life experience served me well when I came across one student who changed my entire outlook and ultimately led me down the path to becoming the superintendent I am today.
During the second day of school, as the rest of the class was hard at work on a writing assignment, I noticed one student with his head down. When I went to the student and asked about the assignment, he refused to participate. I will never forget the moment when he raised his head off the desk, crumpled his paper, and threw it directly at my forehead. He said he wasn’t going to write the stupid essay, and he didn’t need me or my class to be successful. All eyes were on us, and everyone waited to see what the new teacher would do. I took a breath and said, “I’ve had some bad days, too, and I understand where you are coming from. Your day must be so much worse than mine, so I’m just going to let you be right now and we can talk later.”
The next day, I invited the student to meet with me after class. During our conversation, I learned the student worked the 3–11 p.m. shift and his reading level was way below grade level; he couldn’t do the work I had assigned. I proposed a deal: I would teach him to read if he would behave in my class. He agreed.
The only problem was I had no idea what I was doing because high school English teachers aren’t taught how to teach reading. I contacted an adult literacy center to get information about how to help, and through the school year I consistently measured this student’s reading and writing progress. By the end of the school year, he was reading nearly on grade level. This student, who had been on the path to dropping out, was able to pass the New York Regents exam and graduate from high school. I am so grateful for my experience with this student because I learned the power of being intentional in my approach to student achievement.
From this experience and others like it, what I know as an English teacher and an educator is that reading level defines success. Students who consistently read on grade level have a dramatically higher likelihood of reaching their goals in life. It’s the core reason that our district is focused on making sure kids are reading with appropriate rigor, and that kids who can’t read are learning to read. This is one of the many reasons I was drawn to Reading Horizons. We use the program with our most struggling readers to help them “crack the code,” and it makes all the difference. We can’t reach any of our goals unless we are better at teaching our students to read.
Superintendents Can Inspire
Becoming a superintendent was not part of my original career plan, but after losing one of my initial teaching positions due to budget cuts, I started asking my administrator some tough questions. She told me that getting a dual certification would increase my opportunities, and based on my questions to her, I might want to consider administration. I took her advice and fell in love with being able to reach more students than I could in the classroom.
Although it never occurred to me that I would use my certification so soon, when I still had young children at home, before my children were older, circumstances have allowed me to move in that direction faster than I had planned. As an assistant superintendent responsible for curriculum and instruction, I was able to implement what I’d learned in the classroom about using data to set and achieve goals. As superintendent, I work hard to ensure we are focused on our mission to “Do Great Things.”
Leading a district is an incredible challenge. Looking back, my experiences as a teacher guide my commitment to creating engaging and successful learning environments for students and educators. Being an educational leader in the classroom or in the boardroom may mean long days, but it is the vision of contributing to the greater good that is fulfilling and makes me the superintendent I am today.
Tammy Mangus is the superintendent of the Monticello Central School District in New York. In her career, she has been a secondary English teacher at three schools, a principal at a K–12 school, and Monticello’s assistant superintendent. Follow her on Twitter @TammyMangus.