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Published on 01/04/1999 All articles from this issue

'Supe'-r Marge Gratiot

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The Town Crier's 1998 choice for Los Altan of the year

Los Altos schools chief known as a top-notch administrator who cares about her students

By Bruce Barton and Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writers

To understand why the Los Altos School District has been so successful, and, in part, why Los Altos is such a desired community in which to live, look no further than district Superintendent Marge Gratiot.

Those who know her well admire her intellect, strong administrative skills and superior diplomacy. But most of all they speak of a caring, optimistic and modest personality who has vaulted the K-8 district to among the state's elite.

To honor this extraordinary educator, the Los Altos Town Crier is proud to name Gratiot as its Los Altan of the Year for 1998.

Gratiot, beginning her 12th year as schools chief, isn't doing it alone, obviously. She is surrounded by a strong administrative and teaching staff and heads a district that has overwhelming community support, to wit: the passage in November of Measure H, the district's $94.7 million bond measure, with 75.4 percent of the vote. But more than any other person or factor, she is the driving force behind the Los Altos School District.

Others recognize it, too, from state superintendent Delaine Eastin to her immediate bosses, the district's five-member board of trustees.

"If I had 1,000 Marges, I'd have 1,000 great school districts," said Eastin after Gratiot was named superintendent of the year in 1995 for the state of California. "We've been starving the schools of California. So those doing well, like Los Altos, are doing it against the odds. Marge is clearly one of the best in the state."

Gratiot often downplays such compliments, as befits her unassuming nature. "She doesn't take credit for the things she puts into motion," said board member Kristine Salmon.

Salmon has had high regard for Gratiot since first meeting her "about 1985 or 1986" when Gratiot was an assistant superintendent. Salmon was a parent with concerns about class size when her twins were in second grade at Almond School.

"We felt we needed to split the class and have smaller classes," she said. Salmon was told to "'Come in and see Marge.'"

"She was just very warm," Salmon said. "She asked, 'What are your concerns?' and I said, 'I think we need to hire a new teacher.' She said, 'I think you're right.'" Soon, a new teacher was employed at Almond.

Gratiot, born in 1943 in Annapolis, Md., lived in several places as the daughter of a U.S. Naval officer. The family eventually landed in Monterey, and it was during her senior year at Monterey High School that Gratiot met her husband, Bill. They hung out in the same crowd, he said, but did not date until both were freshmen at Stanford University. The Gratiots now live in Los Altos Hills and have two grown children, Jim and Kate.

Gratiot majored in history at Stanford, but her first interest was in journalism. She was editor of the Stanford Daily, and she recalled one of her first editorials: a call to de-emphasize the football program in favor of academics. "You can imagine how well that went over," she said.

Had it been a different era, Gratiot might have vigorously pursued a career in journalism. But with few promising opportunities in the field for women in the early 1960s, Gratiot returned to Stanford for her teaching credential. She married Bill in 1964.

In 1965 Gratiot began teaching in the Los Altos School District at Portola School, which was later sold in the mid-1970s. She tried teaching in New York for two years, but returned to Los Altos and, from there, she rose through the ranks, taking over principalships at Loyola School in 1980 and Santa Rita in 1984 before ascending to assistant superintendent in 1985. She was named superintendent in 1987.

Bill Gratiot described his wife and the district as a good fit. "She's used to the culture of the district," he said. "It's kind of who she is. I think she's more effective in Los Altos than she would be in another city. That's what she knows."

He described his wife of 34 years in the following terms: "integrity, stable, caring, works hard."

Those who know her well said the schools chief has steered the district ship on a steady course, even through such inevitable challenges as increasing and decreasing enrollments, budget cuts and internal squabbles. Her knack for diplomacy - calming irate parents, identifying and tackling problems early before they overwhelm the district - has given some the impression that the Los Altos School District is a place where nothing ever happens - except good education.

The facts bear it out - all eight schools have been named California Distinguished Schools and two have received additional recognition as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Students have consistently scored among the highest of all children tested statewide.

The district was one of only a few districts able to fully implement the state's class size reduction program at three grade levels in 1997. And the district is strongly supported by parental involvement, through PTA support and the Los Altos Educational Foundation, which last year raised approximately $500,000. The public in general also has responded, through a parcel tax and now the bond measure.

Many describe Gratiot as the catalyst for the district's success, employing a management style that is not authoritarian, but consensus-building and inclusive.

"She's very collaborative," said Dick Liewer, the district's assistant superintendent and a co-worker of Gratiot's the past 31 years. "She has definite ideas, but doesn't make decisions until she's had input from a lot of people.

"A lot of people give lip service about caring about other people - but she really does - she's a real people person. With Marge, what you see is what you get."

While some don't care much for problem-solving and working under deadline pressure, Liewer said Gratiot thrives on it. "She can take a negative situation and turn it into a positive," he said. "I don't know how many irate parents have gone into her office and have come out chatting with her."

"They (parents) only want what's best for the children," Gratiot said. Once parents know that's what Gratiot wants too, their focus often turns toward finding solutions.

Liewer also is impressed by Gratiot's ability to analyze and "discern the chafe from the wheat," as he put it. "A lot of districts spend a great amount of time and energy on things that have been a waste of time," he said, noting, for instance, the "Whole Language" program touted by former state superintendent Bill Honig. While other districts picked up on the program, Gratiot passed on it because it downplayed phonics. "We never dropped phonics," Liewer said. "(As a result) Ours (test scores) stayed way up while the others went down. Children need the kernels of sound."

Because of her approach and attitude, Gratiot attracts top teachers and administrators around the state who want to work with her. "She's like John Madden - the players' coach," Liewer said.

Gratiot, in turn, is a stickler for acquiring the best talent available. "I try to hire the very best people, so that I can trust them and not micro-manage every school," she said.

Her positive outlook and her interest in people may be one reason people are attracted to her. Bill Gratiot said Marge can look at an old yearbook and remember students' names and something about each one. He said she recently ran into a student who she had not seen for about 30 years and remembered everything about the person.

"I just think she's a lovely person inside," he said. "I appreciate her ability to juggle everything she has on her plate with an even temper. She really likes people, thrives on working with other people. She takes people at face value. It's not an act. ... She enjoys watching kids learn. Her approach is to work with them rather than teach at them.

"In all her run-ins with people, I don't know if I've ever heard her come home and say, 'So-and-so screwed up.' She says, 'I have to convince so-and-so of why this needs to be done.'"

Despite her busy schedule with numerous night meetings, Gratiot has always found time for family and has taken special care to make dinner time with the family a priority. "Marge has always had dinner on the table for her family," Bill Gratiot said. "She feels it's something she needs to do."

Lenore Cambouris, Gratiot's longtime assistant at the district office, described the superintendent's "open door policy" with parents and her continued connection to students despite years removed from teaching in the classroom.

"She really gets into the school activities," Cambouris said. "She's hands-on and willing to participate. Once she dressed as a lion during a Halloween parade at Loyola (School)."

Cambouris said Gratiot is supportive of teachers and staff and a good listener, but also makes tough decisions, such as letting people go who aren't up to district standards.

Cambouris said the school bond initiative passed in part because Gratiot has "kept the community informed" about the district's activities.

"She's very fun to work with," Cambouris said. "She's not just my boss, but my friend."

The challenges before the Los Altos School District are many. In the wake of Measure H, Gratiot and the schools community will be working on a specific construction plan, including a staggered construction timetable for each school.

Gratiot compared schools construction during the school year to "repairing a 737 in flight." In addition, the district plans to open its ninth school, Covington, by September of 2000, and to make improvements to that campus. Decisions await on new school boundary lines for Covington.

The district will be working with the city of Los Altos on joint use for gymnasiums at Blach and Egan intermediate schools. Then there is always the challenge of meeting all those high academic expectations.

Gratiot, for one, is up for these challenges, colleagues said, as she has been through all significant challenges throughout her 11-plus years as schools chief.

"She's absolutely excited about it," Salmon said, regarding the Measure H schools renovation plan. "She's charged up about this."