By J. Michael Whalen
Times Staff
7/16/09
School’s out for summer. But not for Marcia Uretsky.
The new principal of Tucker Elementary School is hard at work preparing for the upcoming academic year. She succeeds Drew Echelson, who left at the end of the school year to pursue his doctorate at Harvard University.
Uretsky, 51, is looking forward to the challenge.
“Really leading a school community, having a school that I can really call home, is such a gift and a blessing,” she said in a recent interview with the Times.
And it’s likely that Tucker students will feel the same about her presence. Uretsky is passionate about her field, and has been since her early teens. She wistfully reflected on her first teaching experience as a swimming instructor at age 13 and later becoming a teacher’s assistant as a freshman in high school.
“I think it was literally inside of me,” she said of the desire to educate. “I’ve never really wanted to do anything else.”
Uretsky, who resides in Sharon and is the married mother of two adult children, is certified by Bridgewater State College as an elementary and special educator, and as a school principal. She came to Tucker Elementary from the Hull Public Schools, where she worked as a K-8 literary coach.
She views her career in three stages. She began as a teacher in the Sharon Public Schools. Later, she became what she terms a “teacher of teachers,” working in positions such as literary consultant/project manager at Tufts University’s Center for Applied Child Development.
“This is the third chapter,” she said of the Tucker post.
One of the positions that best helped her prepare for her latest chapter was that of co-director of The Learning Community Charter School in Central Falls, R.I.
“The shared leadership at the charter school was a principal position in everything but title,” she said. “It was a whirlwind introduction to being a principal and an administrator.”
But it was during her time at Tufts that she first became familiar with the Tucker School and its staff. That’s one of the reasons she thinks she’s a worthy successor to Echelson.
“I know where they’ve been and where they’re going,” Uretsky said. “So there’s a continuity of philosophy.”
She spoke highly of her predecessor, saying she has big shoes to fill.
“I have so much respect for Drew,” she said. “I’ll walk inside his shoes for a while, and then I’ll make my own.”
She added that Echelson, while at Tucker, “wanted to take a good school and make it great,” and that view is similar to how she sees the position.
Uretsky said the work of a principal really comes down to two roles. The first is acting as a building manager, performing administrative duties that generally remain “behind the scenes.” But the second is as an academic leader, one who is visible to the students and staff.
“My style is to be in classrooms every day, meeting children so that they don’t just see me when they’re in trouble,” she said with a smile.
She added, “They need to know that we always demand their best. And we’ll show them how [to reach that level].
“I empower children to learn. It’s one of the things I do best.”
Uretsky said she has been “getting up to speed” with the goings-on at Tucker by working closely with the central administration, curriculum directors and others. She also estimated she’s already met about 30 percent of the students through their participation in summer programs.
She said she’s been very pleased with the teachers at the school.
“In Tucker, we have a passionate, passionate staff,” she noted. “They’re smart. They see their work as a craft that they’re constantly perfecting.”
She voiced similar praise for the parents she’s gotten to know.
“I want to thank the parents for being so welcoming,” said Uretsky. “I have passionate teachers, but I also have passionate parents behind me. It’s like a family; I call them ‘my daytime family.’”
Parents who haven’t met the new principal will have an opportunity to do so at a pair of meet-and-greets scheduled for Monday, July 20, and Wednesday, Aug. 5. Both will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the school, which is located at 187 Blue Hills Parkway.
But she said that even those students and parents who don’t have an opportunity to meet her before classes resume in September should rest assured that Tucker Elementary School is in good hands.
“It will be business as usual at Tucker,” she said. “The kids should expect the same routine. We’re going to move forward.”