by:  Anushka Ghosh

“A good vision asks everybody’s opinion,” remarks Westborough Superintendent Mrs. Bock. She is the new addition to the Westborough Public Schools’ family. At first she was unsure about the decision of taking on such a critical and high-ranking job, but the positive energy and the welcoming community has made her glad she did.

One of the key reasons why she moved to Westborough School districts, from her previous job at Weston, is that fact that she wanted to come home and work for her own community. “I was raised to serve, and there is nothing better than serving my own community” explains Mrs. Bock.

Mrs. Bock describes the transition to the Westborough schools to be easy in some aspects, because it is easier to locate the schools and town buildings as she is already familiar with the geography. Since she is also familiar with the town government, she was easily able to insert herself and start working. The difficult part of the transition was the fact that everyone expected her to know everybody, since she lives in town. But the truth is that she spent most of her time in Weston and never really got a chance to know everyone until she landed the superintendent job.

As a superintendent, administrating six of the public schools is definitely not a cake walk. According to Mrs. Bock, the most difficult aspect of the work is the fact that she is new to the job. She expresses, “Doing everything you have to do for the first time because you’re just trying to figure it out”. She also feels that it is hard to give everyone the time they need. In order to do the work which satisfies the members of the community, she needs to be connected to people; however, it is difficult to be connected with every employee of the school district when there are about 600 in total, as well as the important connection to parents and students.

To overcome these difficult aspects, Mrs. Bock uses her strengths of thinking like a teacher, and her love for working with people. She started out as a middle school teacher and taught for nine years. She was a principal for 15 years before she became the Director of Curriculum and Instructions in Weston and worked closely with the superintendent there. These experiences help her understand the needs and wants of the teachers and incorporate these wants in the decisions she makes. She likes a wider array of people as they introduce new ideas which can be used for the betterment of the schools.

Mrs. Bock attended Wittenberg University, Ohio, where she majored in education and minored in East Asian studies. Later, she attended Boston College where she earned her Master’s degree. Not only was she successful in her academic career, she also thrived in sports as she played volleyball throughout college. Due to her appreciation for the Arts, she took a pottery course in college, and today, she hopes to continue to throw clay (a type of pottery technique) to grow her knowledge about 3-D sculpture. She took such a variety of courses because she thinks, “It is important to be well rounded and be a lifelong learner and to be interested in new things”.

Currently, the biggest concern for the administration, teachers, and students is how the snow days are going to be made up. “You and I are both hoping that there aren’t any in the future” responded Bock when she was asked about the coming snow days in the future. Her goal is to always come to school, as she wants to get the days in when it matters the most, because the extra days at the end of the school year are less productive since people are just eager to start their summer.

As of now the last day of school will be the 22nd of June. However, if there are more snow days in the future, the school committee will decide if days missed are going to be made up by extending the school year or through a different manner.

Bock’s long range plan includes introducing more technology, elevated design and engineering, and innovation around complex problem solving. She feels that every student should be able have technology in school as they can access documents more easily. Her future plan is incomplete from now, but it will definitely be heading towards a future where students should be able to have an active engagement with technology.

It is clear that the Westborough Schools are pleased to have Mrs. Bock, and she is glad to be a part of the family. With her new plan for the future, the school systems will be going through major changes which will elevate the use of technology. Considering her experience and work ethic, the transition will be smooth.