Mr. Oliver

Yesterday, Joe Oliver passed away. He was 56 years old and had worked in my school system in different capacities for over 34 years. Mr. Oliver was the headmaster of New Bedford High School in 1996 when I applied for a job there. He told me on a couple of occasions later that although his decision to hire me came with some costs to him (as the other candidate for the position had 'political' connections to influencial people in the district), he always believed that he made the right choice. Mr. Oliver was the person who approached me after 10 years of teaching with an opportunity to enroll in an administrative training program (NISL). After trying to explain to him the reasons why I wouldn't be a good choice for the program (no interest in promotion, a 'question authority' personality, a student/classroom focus on education, etc.), he told me that he believed that I had leadership potential and that adding my perspective to the district, we would both improve. I did it. In those sessions and in committee meetings, he would challenge me to learn and do more. Mr. Oliver was an incredibly knowledgeable, deeply committeed, and a very focused educator. He will be sincerely missed.