San Mateo Union High School (SMUHSD) Superintendent Scott Laurence will resign from his position at the end of the 2014-2015 school year, which officially ends on June 30, 2015. Citing personal health issues as the reason for his resignation, Laurence plans to continue working in the field of education.
Laurence lives in San Martin, located 60 miles south of San Mateo. As the length of his commute has worsened over the years, Laurence has experienced health issues.
“I love what I do, and I love San Mateo, and if it wasn’t for the commute, I’d never leave,” says Laurence. “I can’t stand four to five hours in the car [every day]. Over the course of the last year and a half, some health issues connected to the commute have put me under a lot of stress.”
Laurence only seriously started thinking about resignation in Aug., but his possible resignation had been a topic of discussion for some time. “I did let [the Board of Education] know beforehand,” says Laurence. “It’s been a conversation with them for a couple of years. I don’t believe that they want me to go, but they understand.”
Laurence feels grateful for the accommodations the board has made to support him. “The board’s been great; we’ve tried to figure out ways to mitigate [health issues]. They’ve given me access and permission to work at home, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything they’ve done to make it work,” says Laurence.
Laurence, who started at SMUHSD in June 2009, is proud of how the district has stabilized since then. “We’ve brought a lot of stability to the district during the last five years. [Back then], construction was all over the place and the recession was starting, but now, we’ve done a lot of the construction work, our academic programs are thriving, we’re in a good financial state, suspensions and expulsions have been cut in half, API scores are seeing a real positive turn, and graduation rates have gone up. It’s been a fun time,” says Laurence.
Laurence is most proud of the surge in teacher leaders during his time as superintendent. “I’m most proud of the fact that we have a lot of teacher leaders that have taken on Common Core,” says Laurence.
Laurence credits his achievements to the formative years he spent in the Palo Alto Unified School District. “I grew up in Palo Alto, and [those years in the district] were my growing up and education years, and the board [here] has allowed me to take those skills and put them to good use. This was my adulthood. This position has been interesting, to effect change in a bigger organization,” says Laurence.
Describing his transition from Palo Alto to San Mateo, Laurence recalls, “I wasn’t looking for a change, but when it presented itself, it was just a really interesting opportunity. It seemed like it would be a great place to work.”
It helped that Laurence already knew colleagues in the San Mateo district. “Some people that I knew asked me if I was willing to be interviewed for the job. There were a few people that had worked in Palo Alto and moved up to San Mateo, some friends I could talk to. My assistant principal at Paly ended up being the principal at Cap for a year. I knew some people, enough people in the district to know that it was going to be a good opportunity.”
Laurence has held a variety of positions at Palo Alto: teacher, coach, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, Principal and Assistant Superintendent. While he eventually left teaching to assume leadership roles, Laurence keeps fond memories of his time in the classroom. “I think I still like when you see the students and see the light bulb go on,” says Laurence. He specifically remembers an episode in which he taught students about the Industrial Revolution. “I made everybody build cars, move into the back parking lot and race them,” recalls Laurence. “The look on their faces, that they understood the cars and smog and industrial revolution system, and they got to go out and play with it, gave me the biggest thrill.”
Looking towards the future, Laurence predicts approximately five to seven years before retirement and is looking for another position in education. “I would just like to get into a situation to be able to continue and grow and improve organization. Superintendent is always a possibility, but there are other educational opportunities, like at companies. I still like working with students, though. As superintendent, you don’t get to see them as much, but I really like working with students, and that’s what I got into this for,” says Laurence.
