KENNEBUNK — In another life, Kevin Crowley was an electrical contractor.
As president of his own outfit in Massachusetts in the 1980s, Crowley would drive past a building and feel a sense of accomplishment, having left his mark on a structure that would conceivably last for generations.
For the past 26 years, however, Crowley has derived his satisfaction from the positive mark he has left on schoolchildren, having made a career pivot into education in 1989. Now the superintendent of Regional School Unit 21, he and his dedicated team of administrators oversee the responsibility of raising people, not buildings ”“ a task in which Crowley takes great joy.
It’s a feeling that harks back to his high school and college days, when he worked with children as a camp counselor, said Crowley.
“I fell in love with it,” he said. “I never feel like I’m going to work. It’s nice having the kind of job were you love what you do.”
Like many administrators, he began his career in education in the classroom, first as a fourth-grade teacher at Brown Elementary School in Natick, Massachusetts, and then as a fifth-grade teacher and team leader at Kennedy Middle School.
But it wasn’t long before Crowley ascended to a leadership post, landing a job as the principal of a local elementary school.
At first, he had reservations.
“I was afraid I would lose touch with the kids,” he said. “That’s the part of the job I enjoy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I found you can still have a significant impact. Being a principal is a very good job.”
Ultimately, it was spending summers in Maine with his family that prompted him to pursue work in the state, and taking over the helm at the Sea Road School in Kennebunk in 2004 allowed him that opportunity. It was a post he held until 2010, when he became principal of the Mildred L. Day School in Arundel. There, he saw firsthand the benefits of belonging to an RSU.
With the K-5 school newly incorporated into the freshly formed district, Crowley witnessed an influx of resources and initiatives that helped to bolster a school already populated with high-quality educators.
“The thing that struck me was the commitment of the teachers,” said Crowley. “The school, at that time, was not high-performing, but not because of the teachers; they just were not getting the resources they needed. I think sometimes teachers can be made scapegoats. But it was an infrastructure problem, not a teacher problem.”
During his tenure there, Crowley oversaw the school’s transition into a higher-performing, more modern entity. Professional training initiatives began, laptops crept into every classroom and teacher schedules were re-worked to allow more time for staff to communicate and develop educational strategies. That last change is an advantage enjoyed by schools across the RSU.
Now, as the superintendent of that RSU, Crowley has a lot to juggle. He said the key to juggling everything is to do it with a constant eye toward what’s best for the children and their needs as learners.
“It’s incredibly challenging,” said Crowley. “I have a whole new respect for the people who do it.”
To maintain his connection with the youth in the district, Crowley makes an effort to visit schools and spend time with his students. After all, he may be standing on a stage and handing them their high school diploma one day soon.
Challenges remain for the district ”“ chief among them, the effort to reform some of its ailing structures. In January, voters thought the price of a renovation proposal too high. Crowley said he and a top-notch team of educators are working to draft a plan that meets both students’ needs and the desires of the public. The RSU is also slowly transitioning from a letter-based grading system to one that he expects will better evaluate pupils’ proficiency in a variety of areas.
Those challenges, though, are just part and parcel of a career that has satisfied Crowley in deeply rewarding ways, primarily due to the opportunity he’s had to see children grow into adulthood ”“ and to have had at least some small part in that.
He smiled as he thought of how far this year’s graduating class has come.
“This year,” said Crowley, “I’m going to stand on the stage and hand them their diplomas as young adults ”“ and competent young adults. That’s wonderful, being able to see that result. … Not everybody gets that opportunity, and we have to enjoy it while it’s there.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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