Thomas Brady, who becomes superintendent next month, speaks with a summer school student at Woods-Young Elementary School.

>

The Providence Journal / Andrew Dickerman

PROVIDENCE — “Hey, you look like Tom Brady,” a sixth grader said, his eyes wide.

“Nice to meet you,” said a tall, gray-haired man in a similarly colored suit and tie. “I’m the new superintendent.”

“I thought you were Tom Brady,” the boy said, crestfallen.

“I am, but I never played quarterback.”

“Awesome,” the boy said, smiling.

That’s how the day went for Thomas M. Brady, retired Army colonel, father of five and the incoming superintendent of the city’s 23,800-pupil school district. On his first day in Providence, Brady visited a couple of schools, met in small groups with teachers and central office staff and tried to get a feel for his new assignment.

Brady, 57, arrives here with an impressive resumé : a 25-year career in the Army; interim superintendent of Philadelphia, the eighth-largest school district in the nation; and, before that, chief operating officer of the Washington, D.C., district.

As Brady told teachers yesterday, “I know how to spell urban.”

Mayor David N. Cicilline recruited Brady in March after Supt. Donnie Evans announced that he would retire when his contract expires in September. At the time, Cicilline said that he tapped Brady because the school system needed a strong leader, adding that the district couldn’t afford to spend time on a national search, something the School Board did with Evans.

Yesterday, Brady exuded the sort of confidence that puts people at ease. During a visit to a summer school on Thurbers Avenue, Brady popped into classrooms, observed students at work and chatted briefly with teachers.

Nothing seemed to get past him. At one point, he stopped, glanced at a candy wrapper on the floor and immediately asked when the schools are cleaned. When Brady discovered that the doors to the library were closed, he explained that it isn’t unusual for the building principal to “feel proprietary,” locking up supplies and books when a summer school principal takes over.

In every class, Brady asked students where they were from because he said he was curious to find out where children lived in relationship to where they attended school. Because he is 6 feet, 2 inches tall, he made himself small, kneeling down to talk with the fifth and sixth graders and speaking softly.

“How are you doing?” he asked one boy. “Is this keeping you engaged? Are you keeping busy? Is the work challenging enough?”

Brady was full of questions, asking when teachers received their summer school training, how substitute teachers were used and how the Woods-Young building, which houses two separate elementary schools, was organized.

In one class, Brady checked a child’s math to make sure it was right. In another, he commented on how well a teacher used a common object — a packing box — to explain how to calculate surface area.

Brady faces some formidable challenges, however. The school district is struggling with a third year of budget cuts, the Providence Teachers Union issued a vote of no confidence in Evans lastwinter, and the state has placed the district in corrective action because a large number of the system’s 36 schools are chronically low-performing.

Yesterday, Brady tried to dispel some of the apprehension and distrust that has permeated the district since Evans surprised everyone by announcing his resignation. Teachers are frustrated by continued budget cuts and the steady exodus of experienced leaders. And they are discouraged by the glacial pace of contract negotiations, which have languished since the Evans’ announcement.

First, Brady said he believes in “management by walking around.”

“If you see my smiling face, I’m trying to find out what you’re doing,” he told a group of 70 teachers and staff. “Don’t be concerned if I’m asking questions. It’s not a threat. I’d rather catch someone doing something right.”

Next, Brady told the crowd that he is not about “screaming, ranting and shooting the messenger.” Let’s fix the problem and move on, he said.

When he worked in the District of Columbia, a school district where nothing worked, Brady said his office was lined with bookshelves full of studies, none of which had ever been implemented.

“I’m all about getting things done,” he said. “I don’t want a briefcase full of plans.”

And, he is all about accountability. When Brady was running on the Hope High School track this weekend, he noticed some graffiti. It was gone in no time.

“Graffiti,” he said. “If we leave it up for 24 hours, what message are we sending? That we don’t care.”

Brady made it clear that he would build on the hard work done by previous superintendents, adding that Evans did a very good job and is now moving on. Although Evans slipped out of the office early yesterday, he has been talking and meeting with Brady on a regular basis.

Brady also offered an abbreviated version of his agenda: increase student achievement; make business operations more efficient; improve communications with teachers, parents and taxpayers; spread the word about the district’s mission; bolster the administration’s relationship with the unions, and make sure that teacher training is aligned with the curriculum.

When Evans arrived here almost three years ago, he promised that Providence would be his last stop. Brady didn’t go that far, but he did say “I don’t want to be chancellor of New York or Los Angeles.”

He also shared a bit of his personal history: he is married with five grown children and six granddaughters and he began his career in education as president of a parent-teacher association in Fairfax, Va., an affluent community. Later, in the District of Columbia, he helped close 11 schools in one year as part of a $4.5-billion overhaul of the city’s aging school buildings.

At least one administrator was so impressed with Brady’s take-charge attitude that she said she was almost moved to tears.

“I felt for the first time, ‘Wow,’ ” said Kim Luca, supervisor of literacy and the humanities. “He exudes greatness. He’s a team player. He wants to treat people with respect and dignity. I haven’t felt this good about someone right off the bat in a long time.”

Previous Providence

school superintendents

Donnie W. Evans 2005-2008

Melody A. Johnson 2002-2005

Diana Lam 1999-2002

Robert A. DeRobbio (interim) 1/1999 to 6/1999

Arthur M. Zarrella 1992-1999

Robert F. Roberti 1990-1991

Joseph A. Almagno 1987-1990

Robert Ricci 1981-1986

lborg@projo.com