DALTON, Mass. — Central Berkshire Regional School District Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis has put the phrase "life-long learning" into practice throughout her career and will continue to do so in retirement. 

 

It was announced during the School Committee meeting last week that Blake-Davis will be retiring from her position effective June 30. 

 

Although she is retiring, she is continuing to practice what she hopes to have modeled for district teachers, administrators, and students — to be a lifelong learner and lifelong educator. 

 

In the spring, Blake-Davis hopes to defend her dissertation, which she developed on education leadership and how to work together as educators to improve teaching and learning. 

 

During her project, she interviewed several principals, many of whom were in Berkshire County. 

 

"Specifically, my research is focused on rural school districts. I have a love and passion for rural school districts. So, I'm in the right place, I guess," Blake-Davis said.  

 

"I've interviewed principals across the county and outside of other parts of Massachusetts around things that they do to improve teaching and learning in their district and what they perceive as being most effective." 

 

With the many roles she has undertaken, Blake-Davis hopes to add to it and one day teach at the college level. 

 

"It's the one level I haven't taught. I haven't had that experience, I would love to try, but I don't know right now. There are a lot of things that are certainly not clear right now," she said. 

 

Blake-Davis has worn many hats during her 25 years in the education field, including as a kindergarten paraprofessional, a coach, a reading interventionist, a teacher for preschool, third and fourth grade, an assistant principal, a principal, a curriculum director, and a director of teaching learning. 

 

She has been with the district for 14 years, starting as the principal of Becket-Washington Elementary School, and has been superintendent for the last five years. 

 

"I feel pretty grateful and honored and privileged to have had the opportunity to be a superintendent in this district. I enjoy the work. I'm still enjoying the work. I get up every day and I'm enthusiastic to come to work and to work with my colleagues," Blake-Davis said. 

 

"I have a group of amazing administrators and educators that I work with … I believe in the educators in this district to really make the world a better place and do those things for the betterment of all so that we're doing our part for our future."

 

There are more similarities than there are differences between being a superintendent, teacher and student, Blake-Davis said. 

 

For example, she highlighted a time she had to take a course in statistics, during which she was challenged and caused her to think about how she could become an expert in an area that she didn’t feel strong in. 

 

"It made me think of my students, and it made me think of my teachers and the kind of support that I can give them because of my own experiences. How important it is to be resilient, to believe in yourself, to really understand why you're doing what you're doing, what is your goal, but also to show that learning is lifelong," she said. 

 

"It sounds like a lofty goal to say 'we're lifelong learners,' but it's actually a real thing. I think that being a lifelong learner is healthy, and I think it does help us understand our students better, and it helps us understand the challenges that our teachers face." 

 

Blake-Davis sees education as a service type of position. By going to work every day, you are giving back to students, influencing them at an early age, and by doing so, making the world a better place.  

 

"That always appealed to me, and I've always enjoyed working with preschoolers all the way up through high school students. I don't have a preference. I've also enjoyed being a teacher of teachers and working with administrators as well," she said. 

 

"So, I think at the end of the day, I've never really had to question why I'm doing what I'm doing. There's so much importance in educating our students so that they can have a voice in our community and that they can give back and become productive citizens. That's how I see my role." 

 

Blake-Davis said she hopes her legacy within the district is centered on a culture of transparency, holistic education, and collaboration.

 

"I'm very proud of our staff and our educators in this district. I think they've really come together to really create a culture that fosters educating students holistically. I think they put students first. I think they expect, as they should, that we're going to support them in ways that they can do what they need to do for students," she said. 

 

The district is facing challenges that it hasn’t had in the past, including chronic absenteeism and the need for family engagement, she said. 

 

"It really is a process, I think, but I'm really proud of the work that this community does. I think that they've increased their outreach to families," Blake-Davis said. 

 

"[And] they've increased the amount of collaboration they do with each other because they know how necessary that is to support each other and to really learn from each other."

 

Although Blake-Davis' retirement date date seems far off, the district's Personnel subcommittee will soon start creating the process and timeline for the superintendent search. 

 

The district plans to utilize the Massachusetts Association of School Committees' free technical assistance program to help form the search committee, comply with Open Meeting Laws, and develop brochures and postings.

 

The subcommittee will present the proposed search process to the full School Committee for approval, likely during its Feb. 13 meeting, School Committee Chair Richard Peters said.