After two decades as a Las Vegas educator, Michele Robinson yearned for a chance to put her professional skills to work in a jobback home in her native New England.
Robinson recently landed that opportunity when the AmesburySchool Committee on May 27 selected her from among four finaliststo succeed retiring superintendent of schools David Jack, effectiveJuly 1.
The appointment, which is subject to the committee and Robinsonreaching contract terms, came on a 4-2 vote that the committee madeunanimous in a second motion.
Robinson, superintendent of Odyssey Charter Schools in LasVegas, said she is thrilled not only to be coming back east - shehas many relatives in the region - but with working in Amesbury, acity with which she has felt an instant bond.
"I couldn't be any more excited," Robinson, 48, said by phonefrom her Las Vegas home. "I fell in love with the community andreally felt a connection with the people."
Some of that connection came during a short visit to Amesburywhen she was considering applying for the job.
"I had dinner and visited a couple of shops, and it had just sucha wonderful feeling to it," she said, noting that that impressiononly deepened on subsequent visits.
"Everyone was so friendly and it just seemed so genuine."
School Committee vice chairwoman Debra LaValley said thatalthough Robinson lives in Nevada, her keen interest andunderstanding of Amesbury was a selling point.
"She really did her homework. . . . She just had a good feel forthe community," LaValley said. "She wanted to be here. I felt thatand it was genuine."
While Amesbury prepares to welcome its new school leader,superintendent searches are proceeding or about to begin in threeother area school districts - Hamilton-Wenham, Peabody, and Salem.
Originally from East Haven, Conn., Robinson moved to Las Vegaswith her family when she was 4.
A 1990 graduate of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, she earneda master's degree in curriculum and instruction from LesleyUniversity and a doctor of education in 2004 from Nova SoutheasternUniversity, both satellite campuses in Las Vegas.
Robinson first worked as a teacher in the Clark County SchoolDistrict in Las Vegas, leaving for a one-year stint as a parochialschool principal.
She was hired by the Odyssey Charter Schools, which today serveabout 1,500 students in all grades, as curriculum and testingdirector and grant manager. She served as principal of theelementary and middle schools from 2002 until 2008, when she wasnamed superintendent.
Odyssey students up to grade 7 receive all of their instructionover the Internet at home, where they are visited once a week by ateacher.
Students in the higher grades receive home and in-schoolinstruction.
"Like any other model, it doesn't work for every population, but.. . . our schools primarily serve students at risk and it works wellfor a lot of our kids," Robinson said.
Despite her work at Odyssey, Robinson does not see herself as anadvocate for charter schools.
"I'm an advocate for kids and for finding what works best forkids and meeting their needs," she said, adding that charter schoolsare "a piece of the puzzle."
Mayor Thatcher W. Kezer III, who chairs the School Committee,said a key quality that stood out about Robinson from her years atOdyssey is her grasp of technology as a teaching tool.
"It seemed to me that what she was doing was the future ofeducation," he said. "So she is someone [who] is going to move theAmesbury school district forward in the information age."
Robinson said her immediate plan when she begins her Amesbury job"is to start building relationships. The town is so involved withtheir children and the school system. So I want to jump right in themiddle of that and become as connected to the community aspossible."
She also hopes to look for ways to strengthen curriculum andinstruction, and integrate technology into it.
"They are doing a great job," she said of the district. "But aswith all schools, there is always room for growth, change, andimprovements."
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