Inside the Mind of Superintendent Kevin Skelly

Dr. Kevin Skelly has an acute understanding of what it means to teach the children of some of the most intelligent and successful people in the world.

Palo Alto Patch had the chance to sit down for a private chat with Palo Alto Unified School District's superintendent for an intimate look at the pressures of such a job.

Skelly said that being at the epicenter of technological innovation can have both its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, schools have incredible resources at their fingertips to bring kids the latest and greatest in educational innovations; on the other hand, with the 24-hour-a-day connectedness of smart phones and networks like Facebook, it can be hard to get anything done without thousands of contingencies and opinions thrown at you.

“This community has a seemingly insatiable appetite for information," he said. "They just want to know everything, all the time. They’re so hyper-engaged. But then, at the same time, you have to make sure you don’t overload those not-as-engaged people with too much information as well.”

One instance of information overload nearly hindering the Board of Education’s ability to decide upon a matter came in the recent brouhaha over the .

It was proposed back in September that the district move first-semester finals to December, before the winter break, in an effort to cut back on the pressure for students to study during holiday vacation. After months of passionate arguments among board members, students, parents and other community members, and voted for the calendar to stay the same for 2011-12, until they could examine the possibility further.

However, Skelly said he knows the issue is not gone for good—it will probably return to the board’s agenda in March.

“I think we need to resolve it," he said. "I think it has the potential to be a major distraction [that prevents us from being able to work on other important issues]. I think, in the next couple of months, we really need to put it behind us so we can move on.”

Skelly said the calendar issue is a prime example of how concerned and hyper-involved parents can be over their children’s education in Palo Alto.

“There are a lot of really smart, talented, super-engaged folks with a lot of opinions about a lot of things around here, and that makes us better in what we do,” he said. “But it also makes it harder to be as nimble or flexible as we perhaps could be in other communities.

“With the calendar issue—we spent a lot of time on that. And there are lots of people who don’t have any opinion on it at all. And then, other people are hyper-interested in everything about it, and thought out just a remarkable number of contingencies on it.” 

Many other school districts have switched to having finals before winter break, Skelly said. "Either way, basically, this idea that it’s going to destroy kids’ lives if we do, or the world’s going to come to an end if we don’t—well, I just refuse to believe that. I think the kids will be just fine.”

Another issue that has dominated the board’s time is that of student stress and the pressure to be high-achieving in a place like the Silicon Valley. In many ways, Skelly said, it’s a dichotomy that can be difficult to navigate—on one hand, how we can challenge our most high-achieving students more, while at the same time managing students’ stress levels in general?

“High school families will say, ‘My kid is definitely challenged enough,’ and ‘We don’t need to push our kids any more,’ but then in [kindergarten through fifth grade], it’s ‘My kid is not challenged enough,’” he explained.

What many people forget, Skelly pointed out, is the catch-22 that comes along with wanting a top education for your child.

“[They ask], how can we push our kids even higher? Well, there’s stress that comes with that. There are no shortcuts when trying to be successful. There are going to be stressful moments,” he said. “So maybe it’s not relieving stress, but dealing with stress, with whatever you can do—whether it’s yoga, or talking through it, or whatever you can.”

Another big challenge in running one of the highest-achieving districts in the country, Skelly said, is the question of how best to support average and lesser-achieving students without making them feel inferior or left out.

“We need our kids to recognize that Palo Alto is not the real world. You can be a really smart kid and still feel below average around here,” he said. “Ninety-three percent of kids score more than 500 on their SAT math here. Something like more than 80 percent go on to four-year colleges, and of those, a high percentage go to top schools.”

Skelly said that at some point, we have to teach our students to be happy being who they are.

“Somehow, in life, you have to come to peace with the universe, to say to yourself, ‘I’m only so good-looking,’ and ‘I’m only so rich,’ and ‘I’m only going to be so famous,’” he said. “I think our job is to provide lots of opportunities to do different things and develop their passions when they’re good at something, or interested in something. We try to help them compare themselves appropriately. And, we have to try to teach them to be grateful.”

For another look at Kevin Skelly, Ph.D., superintendent of the Palo Alto Unified School District, visit pausd.org/community/Superintendent/index.shtml.