New Hackensack schools superintendent wants to focus on improving academics
HACKENSACK — New Schools Superintendent Thomas McBryde’s 24-year career in education began with a college information session. The Morehouse College senior had planned to study law, but as he learned about the Teach for America program, he thought of how education had shaped his life.
McBryde grew up in Elizabeth, in “very humble beginnings,” but said he had teachers who believed in him and a strong sense of community.
“I had the opportunity to have that push, and that level of academic rigor that shaped who I was,” he said. “But that wasn’t happening everywhere, and that was problematic to me.”
McBryde taught eighth grade language arts in Atlanta Public Schools, where he saw firsthand how students’ situations at home affected their classroom performance.
“Some had to go home where they had no lights, or they were the parents trying to feed siblings,” he said. “They needed more from me than someone teaching them to read and write.”
He later became a principal in East Harlem through the program New Leaders for New Schools, which trains school leaders to improve performance in urban districts.
“I realized I could have a greater impact by shaping the system and providing support to teachers,” he said. McBryde worked as a principal in Brownsville, Brooklyn — at the time “one of the most challenging districts in the country,” he said — and then returned to East Harlem as a deputy superintendent.
He led District 19 in Brooklyn through the early months of COVID-19. At the time, the district had the most temporary shelters in Brooklyn, and 98% of its students qualified for free or reduced lunch. School leaders there worked “tirelessly to make sure everyone was supported,” he said. “I feel like I’m always being placed where there is a need.”
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Most recently, McBryde served as the deputy superintendent of excellence, equity and inclusion for Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut.
McBryde, who assumed the role of Hackensack schools chief at the start of the year under a three-year contract with an annual salary of $263,000, replaces former Superintendent Robert Sanchez, who retired at the end of December. He holds a bachelor's degree from Morehouse College, two master's degrees from Cambridge College and Baruch College and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Argosy University.
Coming to Hackensack is “like coming home” for the New Jersey native, who said he wants to give every student “the same opportunities that I had in life.”
“I don’t know if I would be where I am without the quality of education I received in New Jersey,” he said.
In his first weeks, McBryde visited schools and talked with teachers, parents and students. He plans to continue meeting with community groups to hear what they want to improve.
“I’m still figuring out the landscape of things, but academics is the top of mind for me,” he said. “When people talk about assessment data, I always look at the fact that the individuals not meeting the goals are being pushed farther and farther behind.”
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Hackensack has about 5,350 students in six schools. The most recent school performance report compiled by the state Department of Education showed that 32% of students met expectations for English language arts and 19% met math assessment expectations.
McBryde said he’ll be looking at professional development, support for teachers, the quality of instruction and resources available to students to improve their academic performance.
“The idea is to learn as much as I can, to meet as many people as I can and get a holistic picture of where we’re at before determining a path forward,” he said. “This is going to be a collective effort for a collective impact.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Hackensack schools superintendent wants to improve academics
