Photograph by Robert Scheer
Cupertino Union School District Superintendent Patricia Lamson visits students on the playground at Meyerholz Elementary School, where she was principal in 1975.
By LESTER CHANG
Outgoing Cupertino Union School District Superintendent Patricia Lamson is an educator students remember and seek out.
A 5-year-old insurance-agent-to-be was in Lamson's kindergarten class at Portal Elementary School in the 1960s, and went to a recent luncheon for new teachers that Lamson attended.
"The woman missed her, and she was so disappointed," said Dorothy Brough, past president of the Cupertino Education Association, which represents teachers. "She just wanted to see her old teacher. Even though Pat has been an administrator for many years, she is a teacher at heart. She is a teacher's teacher."
After nearly four decades as an educator, Lamson announced her plans to retire from the district, which has won national and state recognition for its academic excellence during her tenure.
"It is my time in my life to enjoy some other things, like my family, travel with my husband," she said in an interview with The Sun. "I want to play golf, enjoy my grandchildren."
But even in retirement, she won't be far from the profession she loves. Lamson will be an adjunct professor in the English department at Santa Clara University.
In the meantime, she will remain as superintendent until a successor is found, possibly by the end of the school year, said board President Debbie Byron.
Her imminent departure has brought sadness to the district, Byron said. "She is so loved by the kids, parents, teachers, our community," she said. "She is certainly supported by the board."
Board member Sandra James, who was on the board when Lamson was hired seven years ago, replacing Yvette del Prado, said Lamson's charismatic leadership will be missed.
"I think Pat Lamson is one of the best superintendents in the state, if not in the nation," she said. "She challenges you. She has the ability to head up this large district--15,000 students and 1,200 employees--and at same time she has never forgotten what it was like to be a parent. She hasn't forgotten what it was like to be a classroom teacher or a principal. She brings all these skills together in a unique way."
Lew Green, president of the teacher's union, said one reason teachers will remember Lamson is because she worked to ensure they got the best salaries possible.
The district's approximately 600 teachers received a 5 percent raise for the 1995-96 school year while teachers in other school districts in Santa Clara County received no increases, he said.
"We are at the bottom third of the school districts in this county when it comes to school funding, but we are in the top third when it comes to teacher salary schedules," Green said. "That says a lot about what she thinks of teachers."
More than 30 school districts operate in the county.
Although Lamson has been an administrator 26 of her 37 years in education, she has always enjoyed being around children.
"The best part of being a teacher is when you work with children and their eyes light up when they get something. They are learning something new and different," Lamson said. "Those were proud moments for me."
Teachers need to continue to get training and to become "lifelong learners" to do well in the teaching profession, she said.
She said she always sought the most highly qualified teachers for her district.
When the school board and district recently looked at new state funding to reduce class sizes, she stressed top teachers also needed to be in place for the program to operate smoothly.
She said she wanted to become a teacher when she was a girl growing up in Campbell. "I was under an apricot tree with my dolls, and I pretended that I was their teacher," she said with a laugh.
She comes from a long line of educators.
Bill Means, her father, served as a board member for Campbell Elementary School District , and her mother, Virginia, taught in the Palo Alto and San Jose Unified school districts.
Lamson's grandmother also was the first woman to serve on a school board in the Palo Alto district.
Lamson received a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education at San Jose State University in 1959, and a master's degree in educational elementary school administration from the same university in 1964.
She started her teaching career with the Campbell Union School District in 1959 and taught fourth and sixth grade until 1962. She then took a break from teaching and started a family.
She returned to the education field in 1967 and took a job with the Cupertino school district. She taught kindergarten and third grade until 1970. For the next four years, she took an administrative job, overseeing the district's kindergarten programs.
From 1972 to 1990, she served as principal at the now closed Calabazas Elementary school, Meyerholz Elementary School and Cupertino Junior High School.
During that time, she also served as director of instructions in the district and as associate superintendent of of instructions. In 1990, she became the district's superintendent.
As an administrator, Lamson is credited with these achievements:
* Passage of a $71 million bond to modernize 12 schools. The other 11 schools were modernized with $67 million from the sale of surplus buildings and the leasing of buildings kept for non-instructional class use;
* Her continued support for programs that provided teachers with access to technology and trained them to integrate technology into classrooms;
* An open-door policy that has encouraged increased parental support in recent years;
* The district's participation in the Challenge School District Reform pushed by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction Office. The Cupertino district will look at ways to develop standards for courses at every grade level, assess student performance and study ways to keep the schools connected to technology; and
* Development of a science curriculum that encourages construction of science projects and use of science kits to enhance knowledge.
The board plans to carry on Lamson's projects and goals even after she has left the district, board member Sandy James said. "Her vision is the district's vision."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 11, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.