New Malden Superintendent of Schools is already making his mark this school year

Superintendent Dr. Timothy Sippel stresses collaboration and communication

By Alexia Lima

Malden High School

Blue and Gold

Dr. Timothy Sippel was hired by the Malden School Committee to succeed former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy in May, after considering finalists. Dr. Sippel took the reins officially on July 1 and has been on the job since then.

Dr. Sippel’s diversely rich background in education made him uniquely qualified for the position, given the influence of diversity in the city of Malden. Whether one is considering his previous experience as a teacher and school leader in Los Angeles and Pasadena, California, or his recent position as a district administrator in Cambridge and for the Worcester Public Schools, there is no questioning how Dr. Sippel’s vast knowledge of the public school system can be an asset to head up Malden’s school leadership team.

“Throughout my career, I intentionally have sought positions as a teacher and as a principal and then as a district administrator in districts where there is a very diverse community, just because I think it is really important to be a part of a diverse community,” Dr. Sippel said. “I enjoy learning about new cultures and meeting people from different cultures.”

Dr. Sippel said that while his previous experiences were valuable to him as an educator, he does not want to incorporate previous administrative practices into Malden without the community’s input. ”I have been in education for 33 years. I was a principal. I taught elementary school. I was a high school principal, all of that,” Dr. Sippel said, “but I was not here.”

“So, I want to hear from the people who live here and who go to school here, who work here, who have invested their lives here, and learn what they think before we make any big decisions,” Dr. Sippel added.

The significance of the superintendent’s role in our community cannot be understated, which is why the hiring process for Dr. Sippel was not only intricate, but also strongly community-oriented.

Malden School Committee Vice Chairperson and Co-Chairperson of the superintendent search committee Jennifer Spadafora shared how she and fellow Co-Chair Sharyn Rose Zeiberg, along with the search committee, prioritized diverse representation. “We wanted to make sure we had an educator from each union that was represented. So Unit A is teachers, Unit B is directors, and Unit C is all the paraprofessionals, as well as parents whose students represent every aspect,” Spadafora said. “We wanted to have an English language learner, somebody that had a special needs child, whether it was academically or maybe medically fragile, and then a general education student, just making sure we covered all of our bases.”

Along with the diversity of the search committee, members had one desired trait for a new superintendent in common: They wanted someone who would ensure there be open communication and collaboration between administration and families.

Spadafora, whose two sons attend Malden High School, said that families need to be informed about the administrative decisions that directly affect their children. Therefore, the search was focused on finding a superintendent that would embrace and facilitate these crucial exchanges. Dr. Sippel’s beliefs align with these ideals as he elaborated how “it is really important to me to lead in a way that is inclusive and collaborative.”

”I am going to make a lot of decisions because that is what I have been hired to do, but I strive to include people and get input from them in decisions that are going to impact them,” Dr. Sippel said. “I continually want to consult with principals, teachers, the teachers union, parents, and students to get their ideas on what the district can be, what the district should be, and what steps we should take to get there.”

Even with the short time he has had in the position, Dr. Sippel has already begun enforcing this collaborative initiative. “I live by a general rule: collectively we are a lot more intelligent than I am individually, collectively we are a lot stronger than we are individually,” he said.

”The fact that he put that as a goal, to listen and work collaboratively with not just the adults but the students, I think is exactly what we need as a district,” Malden High School 8th-year Principal Chris Mastrangelo said, ”and again, it has to be genuine, and I’ve seen nothing but genuineness from him so far.”

Recalling his roots in education after attaining his degrees in international relations and a certificate in Latin American studies, Dr. Sippel started his career as a bilingual Spanish teacher in Los Angeles with the help of the organization Teach for America. Since then, Dr. Sippel has continued to use his fluency in Spanish to embrace inclusivity. “I have tremendous empathy for our students here who do not speak English, not just students, but families who don’t speak English and who are far from their home,” Dr. Sippel said.

“All of us, whether language is the issue or not, whether it’s a teacher trying to become a more effective teacher or a student trying to become better in a certain subject or a family that’s having a rough season, we can all grow,” Dr. Sippel emphasized.

Spadafora further supported Dr. Sippel’s focus on inclusivity. She explained how, given Dr. Sippel’s professional background, she “knew that it would not be overwhelming to come here, like some people that have been interviewed and might have come from districts that are smaller but Malden is unique.

”In the whole state, we are the most diverse high school in Massachusetts,” she continued. “I think it takes a really strong person to be able to lead a district where every single student has the ability to succeed.”

Within Dr. Sippel’s first few months, other administrators have noted how well his approach to entering the administration is going, and how it will benefit his relationships in the future. “You have to earn trust, and that is the phase where we build those foundations, because things are not always going to be great,” MHS Principal Mastrangelo said. “Things will get rocky, that is life, but if you can establish a sense of trust and a sense of understanding that is what gets you through those rocky times.

“That is what [Dr. Sippel] is doing right now and I think it is wise. Some people come in and they want to change everything right away. Well, you turn everything upside down and people feel resentful, they get caught in their emotions, and then we do not move forward,” Mastrangelo added.

Looking at overall goals for Malden’s district, Dr. Sippel spoke to how “Malden is a community like a lot of urban cities, where public education can make the difference for children in terms of whether they have opportunities after high school.”

“It is not for us to decide for them what they should do or what they should pursue in life,” Dr. Sippel said. “What we must do is to make sure they are prepared to have as many options as they can possibly have.”

Dr. Sippel said he intends to always have the best interests of the students of Malden at heart and to “constantly discover new ways of supporting families and educators to provide the educational and social opportunities that students deserve.”

“I want Malden to be the very best it can possibly be. I want us to offer a curriculum and classes that put us at the forefront of education that other schools might not be offering,” Spadafora said. “I want us to be the school that they talk about in magazines and say, ‘Move to Malden, this is where you want your kids to go,’ and I think he can get us on the road there, so I am excited.”