One of the greatest lessons my mentor, former Boston Public Schools superintendent Tom Payzant, taught me was to remember that during the darkest and most challenging times, “the superintendency is knowing what to do when you don’t know.” I think about these words now in the wake of the recent election.Īs the leader of the Stuart Foundation, a philanthropic institution dedicated to helping disadvantaged children succeed in life through education, I am struggling to understand my place - and the place for my institution - in the emerging national discourse. We are a nation struggling to find a firm footing upon which we can stand and steady ourselves. Irrespective of which candidate one supported, there is no denying we are a divided country in need of healing. Indeed, these particular lyrics ring so true today in the aftermath of such a bruising presidential election. The mood was heavy in the room, and the themes from the show resonated deeply with all of us. We had brought people together to discuss an educational partnership to provide low-income Bay Area public school students with the opportunity to see Hamilton and integrate the show into classroom studies. Two weeks ago, a couple of days after the presidential election, my Stuart Foundation colleague Sophie Fanelli shared these lyrics from the musical Hamilton with a room full of foundation colleagues gathered in our office in San Francisco. A place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up.” “America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me, you let me make a difference.
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