The Boston School Committee on Wednesday night voted to name Mary Skipper as its next superintendent. Skipper will likely lead the district through tumultuous times, as the district recently narrowly avoided an “underperforming” designation and a state takeover by promising rapid improvement.
Here are five things to know about Skipper as she steps into this new role.
She has three master’s degrees.
One is in Latin and Greek from Tufts University, another is in education policy and management from Harvard University, and the third is in urban education leadership from Columbia University. Skipper completed nine years of study in pursuit of her doctorate in education before exiting the program in 2016.
She helped found TechBoston Academy.
Skipper was the chief education officer and founding headmaster of TechBoston Academy, a BPS pilot school. She oversaw all design and programming decisions, the budget and hiring and evaluation of curricula, among other duties.
Former President Barack Obama visited TechBoston Academy in 2011 and praised it for its cutting-edge curriculum and high graduation rates.
Today, TechBoston Academy scores in the top percentile on state testing and has a 94% college placement rate.
As network superintendent in BPS, she oversaw 34 high schools and nearly 20,000 students.
During Skippers' two years in the role, Boston high schools achieved the lowest drop-out rate and the highest graduation rates in BPS history.
She lowered the dropout rate and raised graduation rates in Somerville.
Skipper said during her time as Somerville's superintendent, the district also saw significant reductions in suspension, special education out-of-district placements and absenteeism rates. The district was removed from state monitoring in special education compliance during her tenure.
She was a BPS teacher and lives in Dorchester.
Skipper taught Latin and Greek teacher in Boston from 1989-1997, according to her resume. She worked at Boston Latin Academy for the first three years as a teacher, then taught for five years at Boston College High School.
Skipper said her choice to become a teacher was a calling.
“Teachers were surrogate parents to me, they played a deep role in my life, so many of them, and really transformed how I thought about education, what it meant,” she said. “When it came time to choosing a career, it didn't even feel like a choice. It felt like something that I just knew I needed to do.”
