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A Q&A with the Upper School Leadership, Ms. Gibson and Mr. Materasso

In this Q&A by student newspaper editor Liz Rennie, Class of 2016, the Upper School team shares their academic philosophy and more.
This article was written by student newspaper senior editor Liz Rennie, Class of 2016*

Believe it or not, change is not bad. Everything in life un­dergoes change, from the seasons to our presidents. In the case of Mr. Materasso and Ms. Gibson, change has allowed for an opportunity to ensure and promote a posi­tive school climate- one in which both teachers and students are committed to the overall success of the school’s mission.

We often hear sto­ries about extraordi­nary classrooms led by transformational teachers, the Jaime Escalantes of this world. But in order to hear more stories about extraordinary schools, it’s clear that we need transforma­tional administrators.

This spring, I had the pleasure of sit­ting down with Ms. Gibson, who was brought on as the Up­per School Assistant Head in June 2015 and will take on the role of Upper School Head beginning July 1st, and Mr. Materasso, who was recently promoted to Assis­tant Head of Upper School. During each conversation, I spoke with each of them about their new roles in the Ranney com­munity, and the work they plan to do in order to make our school a more con­vivial learning and social environment

Mr. Materasso:
You have held the position of co-direc­tor of college guid­ance for two years now. What are some accomplishments that you’ve made and are proud of?
One of my favorite parts of being a col­lege counselor has been the interaction between the students and the families. I’ve helped to make a pro­cess, that could be potentially one of the most stressful pro­cesses in the life of a high school senior, as stress free as pos­sible. I feel as though I’ve been able to do that with an or­ganized approach and by making myself as accessible as pos­sible to students and parents. My second favorite part of the job has been build­ing relationships with schools, espe­cially colleges and universities over­seas, and introduc­ing Ranney to them.

Being that your new position will be the assistant head of the Upper School, are you worried that you will lose that im­mediate interaction with the students?
No, actually, one of the reasons why the job is a fit for me is because it’s still very much student cen­tered. When I think about my career and my goals, I always think about jobs that match my personality and my strengths. My new position is part assistant head, part dean of students, and part college coun­selor. I will still be overseeing the col­lege counseling of­fice, so I will have my hand in the process that way. But with regards to being dean of students, I don’t want to be known as the ‘dean of mean’, nor do I want to be known as that dean who you only get to see when you’ve done something wrong. I really want to establish relation­ships with as many students and families so that if there is an error in judgment, the conversation isn’t just an isolated one. I don’t want parents to see my phone num­ber on their caller ID and panic; I want them to know it’s a continuation of a prior conversation.

What do you plan to accomplish with your new position?
As someone who has worked in this office, I’ve had the oppor­tunity to interview students, parents and alumni. I felt as though I did as much as I could within col­lege counseling to make that experience positive. However, I think that as I move into a different posi­tion, I can address some of the things that I’ve learned and filed away over the years to help make the Ranney experi­ence even more posi­tive. I always say that academically Ranney is a great place. So­cially, however, there is an area for growth. That’s something I need to address. I don’t want anything socially to affect the academic experience.


Ms. Gibson:
As many students can relate, immersing yourself into a new environment, as you did with Ranney, can be intimidating. Did you have any appre­hensions coming into your new position?
Whenever you start a new chapter of your life, especially in a new place, it can be both exciting and scary. Coming into a school as an admin­istrator has its own set of challenges. The school that I’d worked at in Brook­lyn, I’d been there for 15 years. I started as a teacher and moved up into administration. When you come to a school as a new ad­ministrator, and you don’t have those rela­tionships, I think that figuring out how to establish yourself as a leader in the com­munity in a way that people trust you is very important. That was my focus when I came to Ranney.

Is there any specific program or prac­tice that you have implemented at prior schools that you would like to see here at Ranney?
Definitely the peer leadership program which I led at Packer. We’ve already se­lected 18 peer lead­ers for next year’s program. Those se­lected students will be scheduled into an actual class that will meet and learn leadership skills. As many people prob­ably know, based on the petition that went around, I’m very in­terested in talking about our advisory program and open­ing up a discussion about its strengths and weaknesses. I don’t necessarily think the current sys­tem serves our fresh­men very well. Most of the advisories get filled up with the rising sophomores through seniors, and then there aren’t any spaces left for the freshmen. What hap­pened this year was that the freshmen got lumped together with advisors who were also new to the school. It wasn’t a very cohesive match. I’m trying to figure out how we can best find the balance be­tween holding onto tradition, but also making the process easier for students.

What is the most played song on your iPod right now?
I’m very much hooked on Spotify lately. Right now, I’m obsessed with the al­ternative R&B sta­tion. I really like this group called called Ibeyi, which makes music that I can only describe as a medley of Euroban, African and Cuban R&B.

Who would play you in a movie of your life?
I really like Kate Winslet. She’s funny and can sometimes be quirky, but she can also play re­ally serious roles.

What do you do to relax?
Anything that has to do with the beach and the ocean. I’ve taken up reading again re­cently. I know that may sound odd that I haven’t been read­ing, but between the jobs that I do and having two kids un­der the age of five, there hasn’t been a lot of recreational read­ing lately. I’m cur­rently reading a book called Americana, which is about a Ni­gerian woman who comes to America and goes to Princ­eton. In the book, she starts writing a blog on race in America from her perspec­tive as an African.

Who would be your three ide­al dinner guests?
I know one right off the top of my head is Bob Marley. I’m intrigued by his mu­sic and sort of the social uprising that he caused with his music. Secondly, I think Tina Fey be­cause she’s hysteri­cal. And Jon Stewart.

Three words that ac­curately describe you?
Sincere, kind and patient (some­times to a fault).

What do you en­vision for the fu­ture of Ranney?
I would certainly like to see the school spirit that Liz Roberts (Class of 2015) laid the groundwork for continue. I think that the three divisions are very segregated. I’m hoping that we can continue doing things like pep ral­lies where we are all out there together, but also that we can create more opportu­nities for the whole school to interact. I’d also like for the teachers to be more connected. In that sense, I’d like to offer more opportuni­ties for them to talk across divisions to create a better sense of community in the teacher body. One of the things I’d really like to accomplish in the next couple of years is creating more opportunities for the teachers to grow and get professional de­velopment opportuni­ties that unite us as a school, and help us create a really good community. When teachers feel excited and inspired, that ex­citement then trick­les down to students and families in a re­ally authentic way.
 
*This article was originally published in the June 2015 issue of “The Torch,” Ranney Upper School’s student newspaper.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.