Incoming school superintendents, before officially starting their tenures, often visit their new school systems briefly to meet with senior staff, tour some schools, or have coffee with parents.
Former Boston superintendent Carol R. Johnson came a few weeks ahead of her start date in August 2007 to get acquainted with the city and to speak at the school system’s annual principal leadership seminar, where she received a warm welcome from then-Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
But Tommy Chang, Boston’s new incoming superintendent, is taking the whole getting-to-know-you phase to another level. Although he does not officially start until July 1, he already has moved to Boston and last week reported without fanfare to the school system’s new headquarters in Dudley Square, where he met with senior staff members.
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In coming weeks, he will be joined by a small transition team and will embark on a listening and learning tour, while shadowing interim Superintendent John McDonough to get a handle on the issues and initiatives in progress, such as implementing a new budget.
“It’s just the responsible thing to do, especially in a place like Boston where there are so many deep traditions,” said Chang, 39, who previously oversaw more than 130 schools in Los Angeles as an instructional superintendent. “I need to understand the work.”
National experts say that Chang made a good move in arriving early, especially for someone who has never led an entire school system. It is a luxury of time, they said, that few incoming superintendents have because they are locked into their current positions. Johnson, for instance, was overseeing the Memphis schools when she won the Boston job.
“It’s a great idea,” said Theresa Daem, executive director of the National Association of School Superintendents. “He’s being cautious and trying to learn. If done well, it could-jump-start the process of taking the system to the next level.”
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Smooth transitions are critical for a new superintendent. But the first year can be rife with potential landmines caused by political stumbles and miscommunication. Misreading a community’s sensibilities and misjudging staff, parent, and political support for educational initiatives can be disastrous.
In New York City, Cathleen Black, a former newspaper and magazine publisher, saw her reign as school chancellor end in 2011 after only three months. She knew little about public education and offended key constituencies, at one point uttering a poorly received joke about offering birth control to remedy rising enrollment.
Little data exist on success of first-year superintendents. But tenure of urban superintendents nationwide averages about three years, according to the Council of the Great City Schools, an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.
Boston has been defying that trend over the last two decades, with Johnson serving six years and Thomas Payzant 11 years.
The School Committee is eager to continue that track record, locking Chang into a five-year contract that offers an initial salary of $257,000.
But Chang will confront potentially contentious issues, from devising ways to overhaul low-performing schools, to grappling with budget cuts, to addressing deteriorating facilities, which could lead to some school closures. How he navigates those areas will determine his success or failure.
“The more you can learn about a school system ahead of time the better off you will be when you start,” said Mary Grassa O’Neill, a senior lecturer at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and former school superintendent for the Archdiocese of Boston. “It’s one thing to read the reports and studies on a system, but it is another thing to actually spend time in the system.”
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Chang’s first week has been low key. He received no big public welcoming from Mayor Martin J. Walsh and he declined requests for in-person interviews and even photographs, preferring instead to talk briefly with reporters by telephone.
Chang said he expects to step up his public profile this week when he is to announce goals for this period and members of his transition team, which will examine the district’s strengths and weaknesses. (Both Payzant and Johnson also tapped transition teams.)
But Chang added that he is trying to strike the appropriate balance between making himself visible in the city as he learns about the system while not distracting from the leadership of McDonough, who remains in charge until June 30.
“My message and belief is that John McDonough is the superintendent and the one who makes the final decision,” Chang said. “He has been deeply respectful and has asked for my opinion.’’
Among the most pressing decisions Chang will face is appointing an executive team. In preparation of his arrival, McDonough asked senior managers to submit resignations, giving Chang the flexibility to decide whom he wants to keep.
Chang said he expects his listening tour, to begin in May, will continue beyond summer.
His goal, he said, is to develop a strategic plan and release it sometime after the first semester of the next school year, essentially putting him on a similar timeline of when Johnson released her plan.
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Walsh said he looks forward to officially welcoming Chang.
“I know that he has already been hard at work beginning to learn the intricacies of our public schools and bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to create a comprehensive plan’’ to move the district ahead, he said.
Parents, students, teachers, and others are already clamoring to meet with him.
“I think he has so much to gain by listening to some of the people who know the system best,” said Heshan Berents-Weeramuni, co-chairman of the Citywide Parent Council.
Related:
• New Boston schools chief lays out priorities
• Yvonne Abraham: More advice for Boston’s new superintendent
• $257,000 salary approved for new Boston schools chief
James Vaznis can be reached at jvaznis@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globevaznis.