Brookline Appoints New Superintendent Of Schools

BROOKLINE, MA —Brookline has chosen Dr. Linus Guillory as its new superintendent, the first time in at least several decades the district will be led by a Black man if his contract is finalized.

The school Committee voted Thursday to choose Guillory, who has been an administrator in the Lowell Public School District for the past year and a half, as their choice to lead the district.

"Lowell's loss is Brookline's gain," School Committee member Helen Charlupski said Guillory's colleagues told her when she went to meet with references there.

Eighteen candidates applied, including three who identified as Black, two as Asian and 13 white. Half of the candidates were women, according to the committee. Eight of the candidates made it to the interview process. The committee recommended three finalists, but two of the three withdrew their candidacy "for various reasons," according to the school committee.

Charlupski said references described Guillory as "professional, always available, compassionate."

The announcement comes two years after Superintendent Andrew Bott abruptly resigned in 2019, sending the district into a game of musical superintendents. First, Nicole Gittens took over as acting superintendent. She was believed to be the first Black woman to hold the post of superintendent for any length of time in Brookline. Afterwards, Interim Superintendent Ben Lummis took the reins of the district for a school year, followed by Interim Superintendent Jim Marini's stewardship of the district through pandemic.

Guillory is set to begin July 1, once his contract negotiation is finished.

Susan Wolf Ditkoff described Guillory as a "fantastic pick." She said a number of people reached out to her to express how impressed they were with him during the interview process.

"One of the things that was so impressive to me, was how quickly he could speak in Brookline language about a wide variety of issues, even with very limited background knowledge," said Wolf Ditkoff. "His range of experience is so impressive I think he'll be a tremendous asset to the district."

Guillory told the School Committee on March 1 that he was attracted to the job in town because of the way the advertisement for the job was written, and in large part because of the work Brookline said it wanted to tackle in the next few years.

"Your commitment to closing achievement gaps and opportunity gaps amongst your students," he said, "bringing the joy to the workplace, working on teacher morale, staff morale and certainly this idea of equity, inclusion and diversity in the workplace and in the student experience. All of those three coalesce and those spoke to me and I said that's something I'm ready to dive deep into at this point in my career."

School Committee member Mariah Nobrega referenced the fact that five Black administrators all left the Brookline School District in the span of a year last year. Then-outgoing interim superintendent Lummis said at the time, the departures of those accomplished women put a spotlight on the way the town treats people of color even as residents and the town profess to want to embrace diversity.

Read more: Black Administrators Left Brookline Schools In The Past Year

"Dr. Guillory will be, I think an amazing presence in our community, but one person doesn't make a school system, one person can't do it all. It's not just the school committee or the staff. It comes from the parents and the community also, I think we've had a lot of angst ... the past couple years. But if we're going to have as strong a start with Dr. Guillory, we also have to think about how we turn the page on a lot of what has happened, and really give him —and all of us— our best opportunity moving forward. "

Bott was chosen in 2016 to lead the district. He replaced Superintendent William Lupini, who stepped down abruptly in 2015 after replacing Richard Silverman in 2004. Silverman replaced James Walsh in 2001, who had served since 1988. Robert Sperber was head of the district from 1962 to 1982, and then Charles Slater took over until 1987.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.