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Hamilton
Veteran school superintendent calls it a day after 37 years
Hamilton has worked as a teacher, adminstrator during long career
By George Moore
Joe Hamilton loved teaching. He loved the interaction with his students and still thinks of himself as a teacher. But he also loved change and enjoyed other opportunities within the educational system, eventually becoming superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District in 1997.
"That's one of the nice things about education--you can do a lot of different things," Hamilton said.
But after 37 years of educational involvement in the Bay Area, Hamilton, who recently turned 62, announced his retirement at a Jan. 15 Board of Trustees meeting.
Betty Pow, principal of Monta Vista High School, said Hamilton has a good understanding of what the demands are from a site perspective. Pow said he is consistent in dealing with all aspects of the educational community and is pro-student.
"He's taken a lot of time to come out to the campuses to talk to students and share their concerns with administrative staff," Pow said.
Hamilton's career in teaching began in Gilroy, where he taught for three years before a 25-year stint at Logan High School in Union City. Hamilton was the principal of Logan for five years before joining FUHSD as assistant superintendent in 1992.
As a teacher at Logan he became principal at Logan and eventually superintendent at FUHSD because he wanted to have some influence over things and enjoyed the creative aspect. Hamilton added that he has always liked working with the community and in some ways it replaced his joy of working with students.
During his five years as superintendent, high school student achievement has been at a high level. Of the 865 high schools in California, all of the district's schools are rated in the top third, four are among the top 75, and two are in the top 10.
"Joe is best known in the district for moving us forward in this era of accountability and test scores," said Bill Richter, principal at Lynbrook.
Richter added that all the years Hamilton spent as a teacher and working as an administrator enabled him to know how sites operate and understand their needs.
One of Hamilton's his first jobs as superintendent was to help settle a labor dispute in the district. He said teachers hated the administrators and community members distrusted the teachers. He said he doesn't want to take too much credit for coming up with a solution, adding that there were many people involved. The district now has contracts that share increased revenues with its employees--almost all going toward salaries, which have increased about 35 percent.
Hamilton made it a priority to modernize all facilities and placed an emphasis on technology. There are new and ongoing developments that include the building of new classrooms, gymnasiums and new libraries at Lynbrook, Homestead and Fremont high schools.
"To me, libraries are the heart of both technology and all other informational resources in our schools," Hamilton said. "I thought we needed to have a person that could really help staff and students make use of those resources and give ongoing support."
Hamilton district is moving toward a new student data system that was developed by former Sunnyvale High School student Greg Porter in 1982. Porter's idea was expanded upon and eventually sold to Apple Computer for $31.5 million. It is called Powerschool and enables parents to check on their children's attendance, tardiness, grades and assignments through web-based access.
"He's set some direction for the district in the areas of technology and communication," Pow said. "We've made some really good progress, and he's really provided that leadership for us."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
