Welcome to The Waterbury Talks. I'm your host, Grant Copeland. Today's conversation is with Dr. Darren Schwartz. Dr. Schwartz is the Superintendent of Waterbury Public Schools, a system that educates nearly 20,000 students each year. He's a lifelong learner who has drawn on his experiences as a teacher, math coach, intervention specialist, principal and community leader to lead the school system into what many describe as its most ambitious era. You'll hear what he was like as a youngster, the bold proclamation he's made about education in Waterbury, and the question he wants to ask people who are considering a move to the city. It's a dynamic and deep conversation, so enjoy as The Waterbury Talks with Darren Schwartz. Darren, thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you.

You're the Superintendent of Waterbury Public Schools, in essence, the CEO of the school system. How would you sum up your role and responsibilities?

Yeah, thanks Grant. So I am the Chief Executive Officer of the Waterbury Public Schools and it becomes interesting when you're the public figure in the public school system because there's also a 10 member board of education who are elected here in Waterbury. Technically, they're my bosses. I also am a department of the city and the mayor runs the city. So I also answer to the mayor as well. So in Waterbury, it's slightly different than some other. Districts and towns in Connecticut, and my job is to make sure that effectively the day-to-day running of the school system is a safe and healthy environment for students so that they can thrive and learn at their best possible maximum, so that we can bring out all the great things that are yet to be discovered. Because our students are amazing here in Waterbury. It's actually privileged every day to come here and work for them.

Way before serving as Waterbury Superintendent, you were an educator yourself?

Yes. So I started my career in 2002 in a small town in East Granby, Connecticut, and I taught there for two years and. After those two years in East Granby, I love the kids, love the families. Had a great time there. But I wanted something different. I wanted a different type of challenge. I did something that's fairly unique in education. I actually took a year off from my career to pursue my master's degree in New York City, uh, teacher's college at Columbia University. And there I interned at a school PS 126, Jacob August Riis School at the time. It was just an amazing experience where I saw educators basically performing miracles on a daily basis, and I said, yes, this is why I came to New York to figure out what I want the rest of my career to look like. And I knew right then and there I wanted to work in an environment that. Similar to PS 126. After I taught fourth grade in East Granby and I did my master's in educational leadership, I applied to the Hartford Public Schools and took the first call that I got from them, and I ended up in an amazing school there at Noel Webster and Webster Wizards will always be a big part of my life. I went there and continued my teaching career there, became a mathematics coach and eventually started working with the assistant superintendent and moved into administration soon after that.

Let's rewind back to the start. Who is the young Darren Schwartz? Tell us about your upbringing and your background.

Oh boy. The young Darren Schwartz had a lot of energy. At least I've been told that I would run myself into exhaustion in the summer and I quite frequently would have heat spells 'cause I wouldn't stop. My mother would ask me, was the last time you had a glass of water? And I'm like, I don't know. I don't remember. But I also, I knew about myself early. I like to make people laugh. I like to engage with people. I remember there was this one time when my whole family was over and I was basically the show and I was just a performer that night, and I just really enjoyed getting to laugh and doing silly things, and probably was still testing my boundaries of what was appropriate and what was not. As most young children do, but that eventually turned into being the class clown in high school, by the way. And so I just really enjoyed bringing out the humor and things, especially in tense situations. I always had a knack for finding ways to bring levity to a situation and enjoyed interacting with people on that level. At the same time, I really cared about education and I cared about my studies. I was a young spelling bee champion, and at the same time I was also the free throw champion at the elementary school. And so. It was just mathematics came more easy to me than the reading Language Arts department, but I did well in both, and I naturally went into a lot more math and science courses as I grew up and went into high school and taking AP Physics and learning in itself to me is a joy. I absolutely love it. I still make it a big part of my daily routine to learn something new, and I particularly like anything to do with. Aeronautics and astronomy. And so I'm a big junkie when it comes to that and something that a few people in Waterbury share an affinity for. Chuck Pagano and I, if you know Chuck, who's also a big fan of astronomy, and we connect on that level, and I think some of that comes back to my father who worked really hard as a engineer. He started his. Career around the age of 30 after serving in the Navy and then going through college and working a few jobs, and finally getting his engineering degree. And he worked for a company called Hamilton Sunstrand and he worked a lot with space suits there. And so I had posters of space growing up and just sparked something in me that still lives.

And how about your mother?

She was the one that kept us all in line. I had two brothers and so I was the youngest of three and her role was one that I don't envy to keep the three boys going and learning and somehow teaching us how to navigate friends in society. But my mother, she grew up in Hartford, Connecticut and the Blue Hills Avenue area. She didn't grow up with a lot of money. When she was about six or seven, they moved outta Blue Hills to East Hartford around Pratt and Whitney. Where my grandfather worked and had a small little house right outside of Pratt and Whitney, and she went to East Harford High, I think it was Penny High back then. And when she graduated, she met my father and they started a family together. And so really, she was the caretaker for many of years. She eventually, as we grew older, she started a job as a secretary for the dean at the University of Hartford, which was really smart to figure out that if you work outta college, your sons or daughters can get tuition free. And so really it was providing access and opportunity for. Myself and my two older brothers to go to higher education because at the time it was a daunting bill for them to be able to tackle, and so they found a way for us to access that, and so her first job was really one of the most important jobs, which was getting us an opportunity to better ourselves.

As you entered higher education, did you know that you wanted to become a teacher and educator, or was there within that, a definitive moment where you felt like a pivot in the way of your thinking and heading towards a certain path?

Yeah. Fourth grade I knew I wanted to be a teacher. So Mrs. Babbage was my teacher, and Mrs. Babbage had a knack for making you always feel good about yourself, and she loved dark chocolate and golden retrievers. She's that teacher that you remember. And she said something to me one day, she realized I liked helping other students, and mentioned that you'd be a great teacher one day, and it just stuck with me like, Hey, yeah, I do like helping others and I like working with. My peers and from that moment on, it was just always in my head. I was going to be a teacher. There was a moment in high school where I was wondering if my love for mathematics and sciences would take me in a different direction. And ultimately the experiences I had working with students outweighed my interest in the mathematics and sciences. And two stories that I go with that. There was one teacher in high school, and it was my last day of senior year where there really is no class and you're walking around the school and you're. Talking to all the teachers and saying goodbye. And one of the teachers said to me, so Darren, what are you gonna pursue in college? You're a great student, really excited to see what you're gonna accomplish. And I said, oh, I'm actually going to this teaching. And he looked at me, he goes, huh, get used to the three Ds. I said, what's the three Ds? Now I'm waiting for some amazing wisdom here. This is a veteran teacher who's gonna gimme some insight before I launch this new venture. And he said, disappointment, disappointment, disappointment. And I just remember thinking like at the time as an 18-year-old, how jaded that he must have been to think like that because here I am bright-eyed, you know, ready for this opportunity. And to hear that it actually had the opposite effect of making me feel like I was making a bad decision. I actually heard that and I said, well, I guess that's why I should go into education, because I don't want another student to hear something like that. And I never even had this teacher in high school. I knew him. Through my friends, and so I said, I can't imagine what it was like in his class where he just felt like it was a disappointment to be a teacher or disappointed to be with students all day. That actually propelled me to know that I was on the right path. Another experience that I had when I was younger, I was a one-on-one for a student with autism. And during the summer I was his one-on-one, and we were able to accomplish so many things, some small things that really meant a lot to the family that I think a lot of us take for granted whether we have children or just our typical development. When you're working with a student with autism, you realize that it's the small wins that matter the most for many families and. I just remember the impact that I had on that student and the family who happened to also be the director of the camp who entrusted this young kid to be their one-on-one for their child. And so they must have saw something in me too, to put that responsibility on me and. I had to brave the swimming pool every day with a student because he absolutely loved to swim and he swam every minute of pool time and he did not stop. And so I was probably in the best shape of my life by the end of that camp, but it was another example of just solidifying that I'm doing the right thing. Professional aspirations and your role and responsibility with Waterbury Public Schools is just half of your daily life. Tell us about your kids and your wife. Yeah, a little bit more than half, but I do have an amazing wife at home. Fatima is also a product of the Waterbury Public Schools. She went here until about middle school and then she took advantage of some of the private school institutions here, but she grew up in in Waterbury in the South end, and I was just telling her story that. She started school and she knew two languages, neither of them English, and so she went to school speaking Portuguese and Spanish and learned English at Hopeville Elementary School, and she worked her way through a system and is a success story. She's a UConn Waterbury graduate, and a successful social worker and a great wife. Amazing mother and just very lucky to be with her and live in Waterbury with her. And so we haven't moved very far from my in-laws, and so we get to visit them on the weekends and I'm in the south end at least once a week visiting them. And. Enjoying Waterbury, and I have three daughters who are 14, 13, and four. So a little spread there, but the 4-year-old reminds me of how fun it is to have little ones and how magical that time is. And the 14 and 13 year olds are paving the way. Definitely great big sisters and just amazing kids, and each one of them are very different and very unique as any parent knows. I'm just very blessed to have amazing kids that thankfully don't take too much after me, but have taken the best from me and best from mom.

We haven't even really touched the surface on your education and all the qualification that goes into providing the service that you do. Take us through that journey from Bachelor of Science to your doctorate and addendum to that, with all that education, what did it ultimately teach you?

Now I'll take you through just the journey of the education. So Bachelor of Science in 2002, University of Hartford. I graduated there, had some great professors there by the way, as well. And one of the professors thought, you know, maybe you really like gifted and talented education. But the more I looked into it, the more I realized two things. Those opportunities are very slim. Because not all districts have it. And I realized that if I went into it and it was slim, that it wouldn't be the best job security. So I was like, I'll focus on differentiating for all my students, whether they're on the higher scales or the lower scales, wherever they are. So I graduated that bachelor's just with an open mind. I remember that first day of teaching very vividly out on the hard top lining my students up saying, I can't believe that I'm going to take them into the classroom and no one's going to be there. And it's all on me. And I just turned 22, but I am going to figure this out and I'm gonna let my education kick in and my experience kick in, which it did and it was amazing. But like I said, after I. Graduated with a bachelor's and I taught for two years. I did want to pursue my master's. I wanted to pursue it full-time because I wanted to focus on my studies. And at the time, I felt like it was a great opportunity as well to do it in a city where I didn't have much choice for my undergraduate degree because I focused on going to the place that was offering free tuition. So I wanted to take this opportunity, also expand myself. Figure out what I wanted in life. And so after the master's I was able to then work in Hartford. And while I was there, I did get my Master's of Education at the University of Connecticut, and that was a great program. I was able to receive my 092 certification, which was my administrator certification, which would allow me to be a supervisor or vice. Principal in any district. And at the same time, I was getting noticed by the assistant superintendent in Hartford and eventually was able to use that degree and came to Waterbury soon after that. And that's when I decided to pursue my 093, which is the certification as a superintendent. And I was really pushed by a former interim superintendent here, Mr. Henry, who was like, listen, you are working so hard here and you're doing so much and you have your masters and you have your own it, that's great. But while you're sitting here working. 12 hours a day. Plus there's other people who are working eight hours a day and going to get their doctorate or these advanced degrees. And on paper they're not just more educated than you, but they also had a different drive than you.'cause no one's gonna see that you were doing all this work here. And he's like, so you have to figure out a better balance how to perform at the capacity you want to do it at, but at the same time, you have to take care of your future self. And he's like, I want you to pursue this. And so. I did go for my 093 superintendent certification at UConn again, and it was a great program. I'm a big UConn fan, and I think they're some of the best educators in the state, and I think their education program is top notch in the state. And so I pursued it. I got my 093, which allowed me to access other jobs within the system, but my ultimate goal, and Mr. Henry and I talked about this, unfortunately before it was untimely passing. He was like, you gotta do the doctorate next. You gotta keep going and you can't look back. Thankfully at the time, Dr. Ruffin and I were talking about it, and she also kind of was like, it's time. Where are you gonna go? And I had a colleague who graduated from Northeastern University who had an online doctoral program. And what I liked about that was I didn't know if I could drive somewhere at four o'clock on a Monday, whether there's an event here or there's something I have to attend to here. I didn't wanna balance that. So the way I found balance was having a program that did not force me to be somewhere at a certain time, but allowed me to do the work on my time and. Eventually that really worked out. Two and a half years later, I was able to earn my doctorate at Northeastern University and among all the other professional learnings that you go through as an educator and been to Harvard and graduated from their turnaround program. But you do all these professional learnings throughout your career as well to help build up your understanding of what's best and what's best practice, and keep up with the research because it's ever changing.

When did you join the Waterbury public school system? What attracted you to the city and how did you rise through the ranks, if you will?

Okay, so great story. What attracted me? So actually it was interesting when I was a principal in Hartford, the superintendent at the time was Kathy Ouellette, and she came in with. The heavy hitters here, Paul Gadone, Ann Marie Cullen and all these great educators that were formerly here in Waterbury Public Schools, came to my school to interview at the time my vice principal who was applying for a principal job here in Waterbury. And part of that interview was an hour long sit down with me and we had great conversation, not just about the candidate, but also just what we were able to accomplish at that school in a short amount of time. And my leadership. And I was just trying to do the best I could to get. The vice principal, the job that he deserved, and then interestingly enough, within a few weeks of that. Interview I was called by the superintendent at the time to say, Hey, I have a job opening up. You might be interested in consider applying. I'm not saying it's, you know, a job that you're necessarily gonna get. You struck a lot of people in that, that one-on-one. So I looked into it and I started asking what round about Waterbury Public Schools. To be quite honest, I was very focused in Hartford Public Schools and what I was trying to accomplish there. And it wasn't a thought of mine to branch out and to look for other positions, but. I'm not one to turn down an opportunity that could allow me a better opportunity to impact kids, right? So I looked into it and I talked to a few mentors and every single one of 'em said, don't come here. They said, you don't want to go to Waterbury Public Schools. You've got a good thing going in Hartford. Don't mess it up. It's a capital city and you're just starting to build your name for yourself here in Hartford. They didn't talk too kindly about Waterbury, which intrigued me in that. I guess going back to almost the story of the high school teacher, and this is what I asked them, isn't that why I should go? Then why wouldn't a good educator. Go and try to work in a system that needs help. Now, obviously that was their perception. When I came to Waterbury, I met a ton of people who were great educators and really cared about the system, but I had that perception and so I looked into it and I guess they were so adamant that it's not a good move that I felt the challenge come to me. And so part of that was I was interested in the director position that was over 10 elementary schools. So the ability to impact. Schools at that level and not many kids started going through my mind and then the challenge of the city that I didn't know much about at the time, but the perception of it. And I was like, it just can't be real. There's no way that it's as bad as you say it is. And of course it wasn't. So I did pursue that instructional leadership director position. I got the position. Hartford tried to keep me and offer me a few different things to stay, but once I made up my mind, I made up my mind and I came through and I think as I worked as an instructional leadership director with those 10 elementary schools, and then eventually as the chief academic Officer, where I was in charge of all the curriculum, instruction, assessment, special education, and the district, and then eventually as the deputy superintendent, interim superintendent, and now superintendent. I think it's just a mix of a few things. Work ethic, the ability to connect with people, try to be as real as possible with people. I'm not trying to be something I'm not, and so I think that a lot of people have connected with this idea that I'm here for the right reasons and the right reasons are they're trying to do good things for kids. It comes down to that simple line. It's not about me, it's not about. What this does for my career, it's really about how can I have the biggest impact possible while at the same time understanding that education's much more complex than most people can understand. Because most people say, well, I went to school, so you know, I know a lot about it. And the reality is that it's not just about students, because if you don't have the adults on board either, the adults impact the students, and specifically the teachers have the greatest impact on the kids in their classroom. Principals have the greatest impact on their buildings and so on and so forth, and so you really. Need everyone rowing in the same direction on behalf of students and believing that they can have an impact. And I've always felt that, and I've always just exuded that type of energy for people. And so why I've risen through the ranks, I don't really know the answer other than the fact that I just show people who I am and I work hard and I give people the benefit of the doubt and realize that we're all trying to do good things for kids. And whether that's us all rowing in the same direction, or trying to coach in some way to get on the boat or row in the right direction. I'm also not opposed to having those tough conversations with people, but in a way that makes sure they understand that, listen, I believe in you and I know we can do this work together, but this is what I need. And so I always give people that respect too.

You're selected to serve as the superintendent in May 2025. Nearly 20,000 students are under your purview and one of the largest systems in Connecticut to a person. Where do you even start? What areas of the educational experience are you focused on?

I like numbers and so. This is the way I see it in most of our classrooms. We average approximately 20 students, but 20 to 25 students in most of our classrooms. And so when you think of this task of improving the lives of students and improving the numbers, improving the outcomes of Waterbury public schools, I boil it down to this because you could talk about percentages. But when you have a district of almost 20,000 students, percentages represent large swaths of students. And so my message really. From now and moving forward is if you think about the 20 to 25 students in your classroom, and you think about the students that were chronically absent last year, which is 18 or more absences, it's a state indicator. Those with 18 or more absences tend to not do as well. And I say, well, you take all the students in that one class, say it's a class of 25 and you maintain all the students that were present last year, and you just get one kid off that list. And if every teacher did that, this whole district would improve by four to 5%, one outta 25. If you break it down to that, can you change one kid's life in your class? Can you improve that one number for them? And if you do one, it's four to 5%. If you do two, it's eight to 10%. And if you apply that to academics and to discipline and to family connections and you think in those numbers, you're not gonna be able to change everything in one year. We know that about life and educators and we know it's more complex than just involvement, but if we can think of it as those numbers and, and impacting one to two lives, while improving everybody's lives. You wanna raise the boat as a whole, but really hone in. And really change one to two lives. If we change our trajectory, even close to eight to 10% a year, the State Department, other districts will be banging down the doors trying to figure out what are we doing here in Waterbury public schools?'cause those numbers are never seen. But I think it's manageable, it's doable. When you start to think of 20,000 kids, I think of classroom by classroom one to two students, and how can we motivate everyone and create the structures and systems in place, the environment to allow the teachers and the administrators to think that way. What do you need to be able to accomplish that?'cause I can't do it from this office. As nice as it is, I'm not with the students every day. My job is to create the structures and systems to allow them to do their jobs. And so I break it down as easily right down to the smallest segment, which is classroom. And if I can improve one to two students a year in every single classroom and meet proficiency or get under that chronic absenteeism goal, we'll be on track to get to the state average in a a short amount of time if we can accomplish that.

You're touching on how many groups are actively involved in the educational experience? Are these groups receptive, collaborative? What's the tenor of the relationship or how do you create positive momentum moving forward and a clear understanding about the direction and the goals?

I think a lot of it comes down to communication, and it's being clear about the vision for what we want to accomplish here in the Waterbury Public Schools, but there are a lot of moving parts, whether it's City Hall and the mayor's office, the Board of Education. Parents, families and community, central office staff, school staff, and the wide variety of school staff that we have and various components of that. Our community partners, the business partners, there's so many facets of education that we have to make sure we are communicating with and being effective in terms of laying out our vision. So for me, it comes down to just being absolutely crystal clear about where we're going and then communicating that. In various modes and medium that allow people to access it. And to understand where we're going as a group. And I really feel that analogy of the crew and rowing together is one that I actually started as a principal that I still think is relevant today. Because anybody that's ever been in one of those canoes, I've done dragon boats before, but have you ever been in a canoe and one person's off? You can start going in the wrong direction. Or if one person's not pulling their weight and pushing with you just makes it that much harder. And to me, to get everybody on the same page, it really comes down to communicating what the vision is, what our goals are. And also being receptive to the feedback and opening up avenues for people to be able to communicate with you. So it's not just about delivering the message and say, from here forth, this is where we're going and this is what we're doing. It's also saying, but I also need to hear from you on how to best get there, how to open up those lines of communications, because from the teacher, from the classroom to the superintendent, you have to make sure that you're making yourself available and you're creating opportunities for that to happen. And so that feedback is not just from top down, but it's from bottom up as well.

So how do you, for lack of a better term, future proof, the educational system in terms of generating consistent and positive outcomes across all your age groups and all particular individual student needs?

One of the things that I'm really interested in looking into for the district and the city of Waterbury is built on data, and one of the pieces of data that sticks with me is approximately 30% of our students come in ready for kindergarten. So there's a kindergarten readiness assessment. It's standardized. Students take it. And if you think of that, and 30% of our students are ready for kindergarten, that means 70% of our students are getting some sort of what we call an education tiered support. They're not gonna achieve just with the teacher in the classroom doing their teaching for the whole group. They're gonna need additional support, tutor intervention, small group work, but that is such a large number when you talk about 70% in most educational circles, they say when you teach, 85% of the students are gonna get it no matter what. And then 10% need a little bit more and 5% need a lot more. But our triangle's like upside down right now. And when students enter the system, only about 20 to 30% are gonna be able to thrive through that tier one. Everybody gets this lesson and it's a daunting task for educators to try to lift up that 70% to proficiency when they've already come in not being proficient. Interestingly enough, if you look at our third grade reading scores, 30% of students are reading on grade level approximately. It doesn't mean kids aren't improving, but to get to that proficiency, it's such a big lift. We have great systems and curriculum now in place and programs in place. We have improved our professional learning for the staff, great administrators as well, but we need. To try to look at how do we get students better prepared in those early years? And so in speaking with the entities around the city, a lot of people are interested in how to better support students from not just birth, but prenatal to five years old, so that we can start reducing that 70% down. And it allows the system to breathe a little bit and allow them to focus even more on those that need it because the 70%. If you think about that, we get a class of 2014, kids need intervention. It's a daunting task for a teacher to overcome, and so I really want to focus a little bit more on what are we doing before students actually get to us? Because the systems we have built already, we've done a lot in the last 10 years to be able to improve them. I think right now what I'm looking forward to is how do we change that number in the beginning so that we could do a better job as students enter the system.

With so many changes in education from technologies and funding models to student diversity and success metrics, how do you plan on a system level and then execute on an individual student level?

That's a great question. I strongly believe in strategic plans, and not that you have to be so inflexible with a plan that you can't adjust it, but you need some sort of, besides the vision. How are you going to get there? How do you organize the entire department to be able to say, we believe in this and this is how we're going to get there, and these are the measures that we're gonna hold ourselves accountable to. And so for me it's high quality central office support. So defining what does it mean from a central office perspective, what we define as high quality and what does that mean for the district? What does that mean for education? And so. If we can define what high quality central office supports are under that strategic plan, and what does that impact the high quality instructional leadership at the principal level, which is gonna impact high quality teaching and which is eventually going to impact what we would say is the portrait of the graduate for students and or student success. And so. Without high quality central office supports, you're just counting on principals to do the best they can. And then that's gonna boil down to teachers doing the best they can and just students doing the best they can. And if you have that through line, through the system where you're holding everyone accountable at those junctions, including the students to be able to achieve, that's our best bet of achieving it at the student level. So you need the whole system in a through line to be able to do that. And strategic plan, like I said, is the best way to figure out how we're gonna get there. What I've been preaching lately is my biggest concern of all things in education is the fidelity of implementation. So you can create the best curriculum in the world or create the best program or have the best idea, but unless you have fidelity of implementation of that rollout and execution. It doesn't really matter because it was just a plan on paper then. And so for me, the most difficult part about having an educational system this large in Connecticut is it's about making sure there's fidelity of implementation at the actual classroom level and making sure that it's permeating the classroom in a way that was intended. And so the best way to do that is I think, again, that through line of defining it and making sure the schools have the supports they need to be able to do that.

What strikes me about the Waterbury Public School System as unique is its willingness to collaborate with others and really try innovative things. What are some partnerships or collaborations, be they existing or plan for the future that you're excited about?

We started something last year that was a little different and unique, and we started a place where students who were on expulsion could go for an afterschool program. Prior to that, students that were on expulsion, which is usually about 50 or 60 students in our district. They would go to enlightenment school and they would take a seat during the day for enlightenment school, which is really an alternative school. So we have kids going to alternative schools who may have really high anxiety or have other things that they're working through, and then they're getting sat next to a student who's on expulsion. And so I'm not sure how the student who has high anxiety was necessarily reacting to the students and next to 'em from the Expulsion Academy. They were there for very different reasons. And so to me, it never made sense. And so we were able to create this very innovative program. That allowed expulsion students to get what they need in a night program heavily staffed with additional counselors and support systems. A great story about that is by the end of it, students were racing to see how many high school credits they could earn in that expulsion afternoon program, even though it was open for over six months.'cause we started it mid-year, we had one writeup for the whole six months in the entire program. Not even a exclusionary practice. That worked and it also, what it did is it allowed 50 or 60 seats open at enlightenment. For other students in some of the bigger comprehensive schools to be able to get what they need at an alternative opportunity. Not that we had to fill every seat, but at least we didn't have to be worried about like, do we have enough space for the student to be able to get what they need? But opened up a few gates for us to get kids to where ultimately they were gonna thrive the best, which is really what it's about. And so I was really excited about that and some of the amazing opportunities that. We have here. I mean, I love working with all of our business partners and especially our higher education partners. UConn Waterbury has been unbelievable. We have worked with them on expanding our robotics program a few years ago, two or three years ago, we only had two robotics teams, and it was hit or miss on what they were gonna do every year. Since having the opportunity to be interim superintendent, now superintendent, and working with an amazing Dean Fumiko over at UConn, she's dedicated a whole floor basically to UConn Robotics and Waterbury Public Schools robotics. They do open it up to other teams, uh, for surrounding towns for robotics. But I'm glad to say that we take the most advantage of that opportunity being right downtown. And so all five of our high schools, even the Arts Magnet School has a robotics team. In fact, the Arts Magnet School went to the playoffs. This year for the robotics team, and so next year we're gonna blow outta the water. What we did last year. We're going to have a much more sophisticated opportunity for the UConn, Waterbury and UConn Storrs robotics students to talk to our students, get them more interested in maybe going to that field when they go to college. We've been working with now Cathy Awwad at Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board. Cathy is helping us do is connect to industry so that we can get an industry partner to work with each one of our teams, because that industry partner is gonna bring technical skill in for the students so that they have that opportunity to also mesh with a partner who has just more experience and knowledge in the field. And then that's gonna lead to, for the first time ever and Waterbury, we're gonna have all five schools do a citywide competition against each other. We typically do the district competition with other surrounding schools. But I'm really excited at UConn Waterbury. This year we're gonna be doing the first ever. Robotics Cup and crowned champion. We did like a light version this year where some of our middle school students were able to go up. So we're trying to build this feeder system. So sixth, seventh, eighth graders starting to say, Hey, when I get to high school, I get to do this. This is awesome. So those middle school kids were like driving the robots of the high school kids and they were kind of mentoring them and just watching that for a half an hour was like, this is what it's about. This is so cool to be able to provide this experience for students. We have a great relationship with Post University and early College High School. Watching our students every year graduate with their associate's degree before they graduate with their high school diploma is really just an amazing program for our students, and we work closely with NVCC. They house a lot of our transition programs. The vast majority of our students go to NVCC as they transition with leadership. I'm looking for great opportunities to also continue working with them. Then the obvious of working with Palace Theater for our students at WAMS, and working with the YMCA who provide amazing opportunities for all of our students for afterschool programming and summer programming, and the Boys and Girls Club and the Mattatuck Museum. Our students get to attend every year. We just have an amazing support system here in terms of the culture of Waterbury, and I can't think of a single leader of any program. Whether it's the fire chief, the chief of police, Bob Burns out the medi talk that I couldn't call and say, Hey, I got this idea. What do you think? And they wouldn't be willing to work and collaborate on it. So looking forward over the next few years to continue that.

This is quite the question. I know considering there's 20,000 students rolling each year that you're supporting, but is there a student story that you feel really encapsulates the Waterbury public school experience and what your approach is all about?

So there's a few student stories, and I just go back to my wife's own story who started in Waterbury public schools and lived in Waterbury, and then becoming a UConn Waterbury grad and being successful, I think was amazing. Learning English as a third language and then just becoming. This amazing success story is one to be told. Then last year there was a student that was on my advisory committee. I have a superintendent advisory committee, so it's a chance for me to talk to upperclassmen in high school and find out what they're interested in, you know, solving a problem and working through that. And this one student who was part of that program, who was also part of early college high school, it's just like a beacon of light, right? This hope for her family, but also is absolutely adamant that she is going to make it and she's going to make it in a big way. And possibly come back here and one day be the mayor of the city of Waterbury. She asked me for a letter of recommendation and I just watched her kind of grow over the last few years and you know, to see her get accepted into Ivy League schools and to see her really just be so excited to take off into college, she's just, to me, emblematic of what a lot of our students are doing. Two of our students are going to Harvard next year, and many of them going to Ivy Leagues or. Great colleges and universities. It is story after story after story of just a student putting it all on the line and doing what's right every single day and reaping the benefits. I truly believe that the Waterbury Public Schools is positioned that you will get everything and more out of this system if you put the time and energy into it. And I think our parents are starting to see that as well, whether it's in a special programming like Career Academy or Early College High, whether it's at the SOAR program at Kennedy or. If you go to Waterbury Arts Magnet School and you're performing on the Palace Theater stage, and unfortunately, I think a lot of times it's the one to 5% of students that make a lot of the news about Waterbury public schools, it's the 95% that story after story of student becoming a first generation college student, and I have no doubt in the next five to 10 years are going to not just make a name for themselves, but come back and give back to this community and make it stronger.

You mentioned how the optics of the school system when you arrived didn't match the reality of it. Now that you're here, and granted you're in a different purview, but how do you view the quality of the educators and the teachers themselves here in Waterbury?

I think we have the best system in Connecticut. I truly believe that considering the vast array of students that come into our system, it's not monolithic here. It's not everybody has a high salary and as well to do and has access to all different programming. I think what we're able to do for students and the systems we're able to provide, especially at the younger grades, our curriculum is, I would say one of the best, if not the best, in Connecticut. I have a lot of colleagues who are in central office who send their children to Waterbury public schools, and some of them get access to the magnet schools in elementary schools. And then they go back to their towns after fifth grade, and they're some of the highest achieving kids. And I know for a fact I'm talking about Southington and Cheshire and that they're great towns, wonderful towns, but these are students that went through the Waterbury system with involved parents that are going back to their hometowns afterwards and really striving. In fact, one of those students was put in a lower level math class. He came from the Waterbury Public schools, and I think he ended up being one of the highest achieving SAT scores in mathematics when it was that time, which was interesting. I do think that our systems are there, and I think that our educators really do want what's best for students. They work extremely hard on behalf of the families and students. At times, though, it can also be daunting and it can feel like an uphill battle. How do you move this mountain? When you have this many students that need the extra support. And so on that level, I also, I can understand how, because they care so much, you can go two ways, right? You can say, well, it is what it is. The kids just are where they are, and I, I've done the best I can. Or it can be overwhelming because you want to do well for them. You want them to succeed. And I think many of our educators fall in the latter category. They want the students to be successful. They know when working with our families and our students. Families just want what's best for their kids. Just like every other family in every other suburb in Connecticut, sometimes it's just our responsibility to help them access that. And luckily we have programs like I mentioned earlier, but one I failed to mention is pal. My daughters play sports and they have access to sports, and they have access to travel sports and all these amazing things that because we're able to travel and pay for 'em and do all these opportunities for them. How does that, for a lot of our students, they give them that outlet, that additional opportunity to be able to pursue something outside of school that allows them to gain not just social experience, but to gain life experience and health wise. Just getting out there and moving and being part of something bigger than yourself shouldn't be discounted on how big of a role that plays for our kids. And so I feel like we're well positioned in Waterbury. To not just work with our partners to do great things for kids, but I also understand that teachers recognize those entities in Waterbury and realize that we are well positioned to do this. I just think that a lot of them do get stressed and under that weight of just wanting to do so much for kids and realizing there's only so much you can do, and then you have to say goodbye to 'em at the end of the year and let the next teacher take over. And so building that verticality throughout the district to let you know it's okay, hand 'em off. The next teacher's gonna take the reins. It's like a relay race. We'll take this leg and we'll keep going. And so building that system of that relay race is really important for me.

The Waterbury school system isn't just known for its size, it also has a remarkable amount of multiculturalism and languages spoken. How do you provide support for that level of diversity?

Yeah, I mean, it's a strength, right? So if you look at it as a strength, it's something that students bring with them. They bring their culture. And they bring their language and that adds to your school system. That adds to the classroom, that adds to the student experience. And so with programs like the Roberto Clemente International Dual Language School, which actually teaches students English and Spanish so that they're fluent in them by the time they leave the school in eighth grade, is one way that we really just celebrate both languages are really important. Being multilingual is an important skill for our students to have. So building that program and supporting that program. Just recently, the board of Alderman agreed to allow that school to expand to eighth grade. So to build on to that school and provide that experience for students shows the commitment from the alderman and of course from the board of Education with the vision to be able to do this is really important. But beyond the students that go to that school, we have a lot of students who receive multilingual services, whether it's TESOL or bilingual, or. ESL, we have an amazing leader. Manny Zaldivar who has come here. He is a former principal. He's a Milken Award winner. We were able to attract him to Waterbury to come here and start working on that system, and he'd say the same thing if he was sitting in this room about every one of these students is coming in and whether they speak almost no English or they're in the middle somewhere where they have a good grasp or they just need an extra boost. If we have systems and support places all the way from K to 12 to be able to support students in that, we have. Four bilingual centers at elementary schools to be able to support students who need the bilingual education. Every site has students that need ESL support and that continues all the way up through high school. But again, I think it also is a mindset, and the mindset in the Waterbury Public Schools is that anybody with a different language other than English, anybody that comes with a different culture other than the typical American culture, is something to be valued and appreciated because it adds to the classroom and we wanna honor that. The days where it's like, let's try to Americanize everything and try to get every person to abide by one piece of culture while at the same time making you feel like your culture is not important or not valued. I think there was a time in education where that was the goal is to Americanize everything. I think there's a balance there right now. I think we want people to be proud citizens of America. We want them to appreciate American history, appreciate where we can go in the future of America that can't be undervalued. We need to continue to teach American history in its entirety and also talk about how we can position ourselves to do well in the future, but at the same time, we can do both. We can value American history and culture while at the same time also valuing your culture and bringing that into the classroom I think is an important concept.

Without coaxing you into a particular type of answer, what would you say to the off perception that private schools and our alternative living can offer something different or better than public schools?

I'm a public school guy, so I, I've public schools since I was five years old, and I really believe in it. So I think private schools do offer. An opportunity for families that want that experience for their child. I've talked to those that have gone to private schools. A lot of them cite two reasons. Typically, they feel like it's safer in the private schools, and then there's also this belief that they have a superior education. I would say that that's a personal choice for a family they have to make with their child's best interest. In mine. My child is going to the Waterbury Public Schools next year as a preschooler. I feel completely safe sending my child to our schools, and I really do believe we have a high quality education here, and the difference between privates and publics is public schools. Also. You have to be a certified educator and you have to go through certain programs and private schools. What a lot of people don't necessarily know is that you don't have to be certified to teach in a private school. Sometimes you get a mixed bag, whether that's expertise in the content area or just in student development, but that's also not to disparage any private schools. I think everyone's working hard to help educate kids, and I don't think private schools are doing it with any malice in their heart. I think they're just designed differently and it's really a personal choice for each family. But I personally believe in the Waterbury public schools, and my little ones start in preschool here next year.

Let's talk about some things that people may not know about you in terms of one that's inspired you or has impacted the way that you lead. What are some of your favorite books?

It's a mix between education and personal books, but I would say that a testament of hope is something that I've read when I was younger and it was just the complete works of Martin Luther King and his, not just his writing, but his speeches, and he's an absolute genius as everybody knows. He's just an amazing leader. And the more I learned about him and how he responded to conflict during a very tumultuous time in the nation impacted me greatly and impacts me to this day. When as a leader who deals with tumultuous situations, made me not to his level, obviously, and at his stage. I think there's something to be said about someone that has a vision who can execute that vision and communicate that vision in a very clear and distinct way. And who isn't afraid to stand up for what they believe, and I think. That no one can say that Martin Luther King backed down from any of those concepts, whether it's in his writings, his works, or his actions. And it was just his approach to doing this. And he is so magnificent, and I'm thinking at the letter from Birmingham Jail and how he just so eloquently argued the reason why he should be present when there is no justice in certain areas, even though he was considered an outsider. Why it was bigger than just one local community or a city. And that the fight was, it's an idea and this concept. And I truly believe, I take that with me when I'm thinking of educating students in Waterbury public schools and that, are we talking about this one issue or are we talking about something bigger than us? It usually takes you out of whatever's happening and say, look, what do we focus on? And I think a lot of that goes back to some of the works that Martin Luther King really inspired that type of. Insight into me and how you can accomplish things. Doesn't always have to be the sword. It certainly could be the pen and the way that he just led a movement. And again, the non-violence approach that he took and the reason why he explained how non-violence would impact society and to put up a front of, even though somebody wants to do me harm, showing this non-violence is actually in a moral level, just a level up from that. And that's saying it's bigger than the violence that you wanna put on upon me. And I think on a smaller level, and as a leader, when people are angry or mad at you or want you to fail or want you to maybe not succeed, and I think you take those kinda lessons with you and you start thinking of that. And interestingly enough, I'm always open to ears. I wanna listen, especially if somebody has critical feedback. But I also don't take it to heart because I also know who I am as a person and what I'm trying to accomplish. And I know that. If I make a mistake or if somebody doesn't see eye to eye with me, that's okay, but I'm also trying to accomplish a lot of times the same thing other people are trying to accomplish, just maybe in different ways. That kind of thinking of the larger picture and how to accomplish it in a way that isn't just top handed or heavy handed, but just really thoughtful has stuck with me for years and years. I also read a book, People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Like I read that when I was in some class in either college or maybe high school. That concept really brought my attention to the fact that seeing history through other people's eyes and lenses also had a major impact on me To say that there's history sold in books and then there's the history also from your typical person living on the streets on those days or on the farms, and that it's not just about the popular figures and influence they had on society, understanding how the typical person was experiencing those times. Really had an impact on me as well. And I say that book because somebody mentioned to me the other day, she's like, you know why I really like you as a superintendent? You've never forgotten what it's like to be a teacher. And I bring that back to no matter where you are as a leader or in education, and that's specifically a superintendent role, if you forget what it's like to be a teacher, you start to make decisions, I think for the wrong reasons. And teachers and administrators have the biggest impact on students' life is just as simple as that. And so remembering what everyone in the organization is experiencing and trying to do your best to corral that and make it a story is important to me.

The role of superintendent is the laborious one. You're doing lots of hours, nights, weekends, devoted to all kinds of things, connecting with community, educating students, expanding the horizons and so forth. That said, what are you doing when you do have time for your own recreation?

Probably thinking about the Waterbury public schools, but if I'm not doing that, obviously I'd love to spend time with the family, whether it's board games, lawn games, hoops in the driveway, kicking the soccer ball in the backyard, watching my kids play their sports, or go to their activities, whether it's soccer or tennis. Cross country ballet. Suzuki class. All of that is just amazing for me to watch my children develop.'cause I spend so much time trying to work on creating a system for other people's children. That finding time to do that is great. Spending time with family, like I said, I like to go to the south end and eat some amazing Portuguese food every weekend. And being able to do that, I love, I love the restaurants here in Waterbury and so my wife and I will, as best we can, try to experience that as much as possible. And. Also give back to local businesses, while at the same time you make a lot of connections with the owners and other people walking in. It just feels like home no matter what restaurant you go into, because you wanna see the city succeed. And we love to take advantage of the local institutions. And my wife and I, before the pandemic hit, we were long time members of the YMCA, but then we had to figure out how to do it at home. But you know, just connecting with leaders in the city, whether it's at The Matt or The Y or the Palace Theater or here downtown. Things I like to do. I like to go out with those leaders and try to connect offsite and not talk about this one project, but let's just talk about leadership and our family lives and do those things. And if I could squeeze in time with my friends, I'm sure they would appreciate that. I promise I'll answer that text sometime soon. But to prioritize it, it's really family first, and after that it becomes maybe time for some early morning runs, maybe some early morning bike rides. But other than that, it's really about the family.

With so many things to do in Waterbury, a busy life, both home and professionally. What's your favorite thing to do in Waterbury?

One of the things that I just absolutely love is graduations, leading up to graduations, all the senior nights, all the senior awards. It's such a magical time. I've experienced it for over 12 years here, but experiencing it last year as the interim superintendent and being the leader of the district at the time and just living that. Moment through the student's eyes and experiences going to their college acceptance days and going to their awards. Nice. And the energy was the same as 1998 when I was graduating from Enrico Fermi High School. And the students are all experiencing very similar feelings that we all had at that time of graduating high school. And it just reminds you of what we do and it all culminating to this one event of graduation and then they're gone. The good news is they're 11th graders coming up to 12th grade and they're gonna experience it. And I say they're gone because we have certain sayings, like once a bulldog, always a bulldog at Crosby, and they're always gonna be connected to their alma mater, obviously. And many of them are gonna come back and give back to the water bear community. And. Speak highly of their high school, but that's it for us really. After that, we have another group of students coming up and now it's their turn to do this. And it's just this awesome cycle to watch students come up and then experience those few short weeks where life is really good. And they may not have it all figured out, but they know where they're going next for the most part. And everyone's getting along and everyone is really excited about the future. And it's an energy that you cannot recreate anywhere else. To be around that many students on a consistent basis near the end of their high school career. Even the educators every year is the same thing. They love the kids. They rally around them, create these awesome experiences for them, and you just cycle it through and it's just, it's really cool.

So at the end of the day, what do you think distinguishes Waterbury? Be that your teachers, students, or just the community at large?

Waterbury, and I think many people would agree with this, it's, it's a city of a hundred thousand, but it, in many ways, it feels like a collection of a lot of villages. It does feel like a small town. Waterbury really embraces the leaders of all of the community organizations, the civic leaders, and there is a connection there that I think is unique from other towns and cities. And like I said, whether I call the director of The Y or the director of the Boys and Girls or the mayor or the board of alderman president or whoever it is, everyone is connected in a way. They're not connected in a way that can sometimes be seen as negative. They're connected in a way because. We're all trying to move the city forward to do good things for citizens and students both. So I think it's very unique in that concept that a lot of people run for positions or are put into these positions. It's not, from what I see of ego, it's more of service, and I really do feel like those in leadership positions, believe in service as do. And you get up every day and you, you do your best because you know, in the end, what you're doing on a daily basis is bigger than you, and it has a greater impact on your family unit. You're impacting thousands and thousands of lives, and so it's hard to rest when you know that, but I think it's what drives a lot of us of the city.

So you may have just answered the next question, but I'll ask it on a personal level. Do you feel a certain obligation to be one of the key leaders in the city?

Yeah. No, there's no question. I feel an obligation because being the superintendent that comes with the territory and it's not an obligation. As in it's obligatory because you don't want it. You take the job because you do want that obligation. You want that accountability. You know that you are working in service of not just the students, but the families and the citizens. I live in Waterbury. I'm a taxpayer in Waterbury. So whether it's the argument of fiscal responsibility or just making the city better or the district better, it helps the community at large. You want that obligation and. But I also believe in not just myself, but I believe in the team that we have here in the Waterbury Public Schools to be able to accomplish great things for kids.

So here's your chance. If you had to pitch me, I'm bringing my family or my business to Waterbury, what would you say?

Just come talk to me because I live in Waterbury. I chose to relocate here to the city. I chose to work in the Waterbury Public Schools. I'm choosing to send our youngest daughter right to preschool, and she's gonna be in the Waterbury Public Schools for the next 13 years. And as an educator. As a professional to make those decisions. Those are some of the most important decisions that an adult makes, right? It's where am I gonna live and where do I want my child to go to school?'cause I wanna give them the best. And anyone who has chosen the Waterbury public schools that I know of in this situation has not regretted bringing or relocating to here. We have a vibrant city life. We have great restaurants, we have great leaders in the community. I have great neighbors. Even just that, just having those around me, it's not what most people think when they think of Waterbury. And if I could just do like a day in the life of the superintendent from morning to night, and you could see the students that I see with the promise that they have with the energy and the enthusiasm and the brilliance that they bring to our schools every day. If you see the teachers who are working so hard on behalf of the students here, if you see the families who really just want what's best for their children, and you take the time to come learn about the city and experience it, and not just learn it from what's posted on social media or just the headlines and the papers to just really experience the people here. I think that you'd have a good sell. Instead of asking why Waterbury, I would ask you, why not Waterbury? What do other towns offer that Waterbury doesn't have? I'd probably have an answer for you that it's here.

Darren, thank you so much for your perspectives today.

Thank you.

Listen to the full series from The Waterbury Talks and learn more about Darren Schwartz, the Waterbury Public School System, the educational depth throughout Waterbury, and all the city offers at thewaterbury.com