After switching majors from mechanical engineering to education, Michael Welch’ 89, graduated from URI with a degree in secondary education and went on to a 30 + years distinguished career in education that exemplifies his commitment to, and passion for, education. Welch was honored with a URI Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Education on Oct. 21, 2023 at the Newport Marriott Hotel.
Welch started as a high school physics teacher, then went on to become principal for Newton and Framingham Public Schools, culminating with his position as the superintendent of the Dedham public school system before retiring. Though retired, he continues to work with the Dedham, Mass. school district to train administrators to help with the growing needs in the education system.
During his time working in education, Welch was the recipient of the district’s best teacher award, and the recipient of a national first-year teacher award. He also serves on the Board of Directors for The Massachusetts Partnership for Youth, as well as a member of O.A.R.S, (Old and Ancient Rowers Society) of R.I., a non-profit alumni affiliate organization created to support club rowing at the URI.
“We need more good people in the public education pipeline, and I hope to do my part in encouraging and supporting our future educators and educational leaders in the years to come,” he said.
The following is an in-depth interview with Michael Welch as he discussed his journey as an educator and leader.
Why did you become and educator?
My original undergraduate work was in mechanical engineering. I grew increasingly dissatisfied with that work, and eventually quit engineering. I wanted to do something more focused on people. At the same time, I was getting invested in rowing, and ultimately dropped out of school to become the head coach of rowing at URI. It was the coaching and leadership aspects I experienced in rowing that led me to eventually finish my degree in secondary education. Around that time, I accepted a position as a rowing coach at MIT, and moved to Boston in 1987.
What is your teaching philosophy?
All good teaching starts with strong relationships. Believing all students can learn and having high expectations sends a strong message of support to all. In such an environment, students are more willing to work hard because they believe the teacher believes in them. Kids will do some amazing things if they are inspired by the thoughts of a role model who truly believes in them and challenges them to reach their full potential. This requires a lot of planning and preparation to create intriguing experiences and interesting lessons that are interactive, and team based. Focusing on outcomes and then creating a pathway from where students’ knowledge begins to where you want them to end up is really difficult. But when it is done well, it is really impactful.
You have been involved in all levels of education – teacher, principal and superintendent. What role did you enjoy most and why; and what role did you find most challenging and why?
I think the role I enjoyed the most was when I was a Housemaster (Vice-Principal) at Newton North High School in Newton, Mass. In that role I was in charge of 525 students as they progressed from freshmen to seniors. It was a lot of work with student behaviors and discipline, and the many challenges faced by families as they did their best to support their children. It was at the intersection of students, teachers, and parents and how they all worked together. I learned a lot about conflict resolution, goal setting, and how to motivate people to work with each other. I got to observe and learn from a good principal and some very talented colleagues. I loved working with the toughest kids who hated school and had difficult lives at home. These students were often the most grateful and appreciative of my genuine attention and care, even though most times they were expecting me to give up on them. Helping kids set goals, make better decisions, and control what they can control was very satisfying. I found that if I approached every student with curiosity and valued them as an individual with a unique story, they would respond in turn with appreciation and really strong effort.
In terms of the most challenging role, I would say that being a superintendent is the most difficult. It really is two jobs – a day job where you are in schools, being visibly present and working with teachers and principals, and getting to know and support caregivers and families. Then there is the simultaneous night job – working with elected officials (school boards), town officials, parent groups, and members of the broader community through the budgeting and planning processes. I frequently was out at meetings in the community four nights per week, and it was not uncommon to work 16 hours a day and full days on the weekends. People don’t understand the dual nature of the role since they usually only see one side of the job and expect you to be omni-present and attentive to their perspective and needs. That is really exhausting. And it extends all summer, too.
What differences do you see in today’s learners versus how students learned when you first started teaching?
In the 35 years I have spent in education, I have seen students gain exposure to more ideas at younger ages, primarily through social media. This creates challenges when kids are not developmentally able to process mature concepts through a responsible adult. Watching a 15-second video on a cell phone exposes kids to things that they perceive are real and common, when in reality these are designed to draw kids in to more of the same content. It’s like an intellectual Twinkie – tastes good when you eat it, but it has absolutely no nutritional value. Similarly, social media catches your attention, but in the absence of context and lived experience, it has no deep learning involved and can frequently send a message that is counter to what kids foundationally need to better understand the world and themselves. Nothing is more impactful on students than having close relationships with trusted adults who can help them understand and process the many messages they receive from media. Spending quality time with kids through shared experiences is by far the most meaningful form of learning.
What curriculum changes, if any, would you like to see made to better accommodate today’s learners?
It is important for learning to be deep and meaningful, with many different opportunities to engage and be challenged. I like to say that developing a really good lesson is like riding an 18-speed bike. It’s easy to pedal if you need to go up a hill, but it can also shift to go fast down a hill, and has every gradation of “just right” effort and challenge in between those two extremes. A classroom lesson should be similar in that all students should be able to engage on a very simple level, but the design of the lesson provides opportunities for more advanced kids to be challenged at a very high level. This is really hard to do, and takes a lot of planning and practice.
How do you think technology affected the way teachers teach and students learn?
It’s ironic that kids today are far more connected through technology than they have ever been, but they are also far lonelier and more isolated. Attention spans are VERY short, and kids expect instant results without long-term commitment of effort. We need to acknowledge that finding access to information and memorizing facts are no longer high leverage skills. Working together as a team, being able to filter facts from fiction, and understanding how to create deeper meaning from information need to guide our approach to education in the years ahead.
How do you propose to build a culture of understanding, respect and empathy for all students, especially multi-language learners?
Fundamentally, seeing human differences as a strength rather than a deficit is critical. A student who speaks a first language other than English is a huge asset in a classroom, but frequently is seen as having a “learning challenge” rather than a potent skill. The mono-linguistic and mono-cultural tendencies of many public schools create missed opportunities for many students. It is critical that we warmly embrace differences while acknowledging and appreciating the many human ways in which we are all the same. Everyone wants friends. Everyone wants to belong. Everyone wants to be noticed and affirmed. Skilled teachers weave these concepts into the everyday life of their classrooms, and school cultures that see this as a core value are welcoming to all.
What do you see as the greatest void in today’s educational system?
One of the biggest voids I see is the lack of diversity in the teaching profession. The student population in the U.S. is rapidly diversifying, but the teaching workforce remains overwhelmingly white and mono lingual. And the gap in diversity between students and teachers is widening, not shrinking. There are many reasons for this problem, but we need a widespread and deeply committed effort to reverse this trend, and I don’t see the urgency to do so in our regional, state, or national dialog. The teaching force needs to mirror the demographics of our student population more closely. And we need to encourage more young people to pursue education as a really wonderful career.
Though retired, you still work with the Dedham school district to train administrators. What do administrators need to focus on to improve/enhance our education system?
In my coursework with teachers training to become principals, we spend a lot of time studying school culture and leadership. One of the hardest things for my students to do is shift from doing things yourself (being a super-hard worker who attacks every problem) to achieving goals through others (leadership). Inspiring a vision, articulating core values, and working as an entire team requires skills that are sometimes foreign to classroom teachers. This shift in mindset and seeing situations through the eyes of others is critical for success as a school leader, and it is much harder than most people expect.
What is your best advice to college students studying to become teachers?
Be a keen observer. Study your students, your colleagues, and your families. Be curious about every person’s story, and seek to find and shine a light on every person’s strengths. Find veteran educators who inspire you and learn all you can from them. Visit as many different schools and classrooms as you can, and take something away from every single interaction. Always look to improve your craft and better understand your students.
As a rowing coach, what values do you instill in the athletes that can translate into a professional role?
I think the biggest concept that translates from rowing to educational leadership is the importance of everyone understanding and believing in big picture vision about what goal you are working toward. Everyone is a part of the team, and everyone needs to play a part in moving toward success. It is the leader’s job to stay grounded in core values and beliefs, and constantly reinforce and inspire the collective vision of the institution. This creates strongly motivated individuals who will work hard toward this collective purpose. It sounds easy, but it is very hard to stay focused on the big picture when “the tyranny of the urgent” can easily side-track your efforts.