By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The school board announced in April that it had selected Dr. Thomas Forcella as the replacement for Neil Pedersen, who had served as superintendent since 1992. Forcella began work on July 5, and this month he’ll start his first school year at the helm of the district.
Though Forcella has spent his entire career in New England, he said he was drawn to the district by its great reputation, as well as by two grown sons living in the South.
He’s already spent 32 years in public education, but “I still have a lot of energy,†Forcella said, adding that he plans to spend five to seven years with Chapel Hill-Carrboro to close out his career in education.
“I like the change. I like that there’s always something new,†he said. “It’s the furthest thing in the world from routine.â€
Prior to coming to Chapel Hill-Carrboro, he served as superintendent of Guilford, Conn., Public Schools since 2005, and before that as superintendent of schools in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Forcella got his start as a high school special-education teacher. He earned an undergraduate degree in physical education and later went on to get his master’s in special education and a doctorate in educational management.
After five years in the classroom, he spent seven years as an assistant principal, then six as a high-school principal.
“I really enjoyed high schools. I always have – just the activity that’s going on,†he said. As a principal, “you can take a staff and motivate them to do some pretty neat things.â€
Though he enjoyed being in the classroom and in the schools, he wanted to create systemic change and knew that had to come from the district administrative level. He became an assistant superintendent, then superintendent.
His style, he says, is “very hands-on.†And, he adds, “I believe in creating a collaborative culture.â€
Challenges
The district’s size will certainly be an adjustment for Forcella; Chapel Hill-Carrboro has nearly three times the number of students as Guilford Public Schools, which includes seven schools serving 3,900 students.
“It’s a big change in size,†he said; however, the districts do have important similarities.
“What I’m finding is that a lot of the goals that the community has and the school district has are similar†to those of Guilford.
Though the district’s size will make it more difficult for him to show his face in all of the district schools on a regular basis, Forcella intends to be seen in the schools and the community as much as he can.
“I’d like to get out to games. I think it’s important … to be able to put a face to a name,†he said. “I’ve always been able to find time to talk to anyone who has a concern.
“Everyone has a right to be part of the process.â€
Moving forward, a big part of that process will be the development of the district’s new strategic plan.
“One of my challenges will be how you get input from all the stakeholders,†he said. “What kind of a district do we want to be?â€
Forcella looks forward to gathering that input and taking a hard look at the schools.
“I’m excited about looking at the district as a whole,†he said. He hopes to hold a large-scale event in the spring to gather the community as a kick-off for the district’s new strategic plan.
“I think in order to create positive change, we need to create a sense of ownership,†he said.
An obvious obstacle for the district is the state of the economy.
“The challenge there is how do you take something negative and turn it into something positive,†Forcella said. “It gives you the chance to take a hard look at what you’re doing and see if there’s a better way.â€
Throughout the superintendent search, community members, parents and teachers identified the minority achievement gap as one of the top issues facing the district today. Forcella hopes to approach that gap head-on. He believes an emphasis on classroom instruction and “keeping the notion alive that we all can get better†are the keys to closing it.
“It’s really about all kids learning at higher levels,†Forcella said. “Intelligence is not stagnant. Effort creates ability.â€