Q&A with Interim Superintendent Dr. Steve Massey

He may not be a man who relishes the spotlight, but Interim Superintendent Dr. Steve Massey has already made a mark on the district through his extensive expertise and genuine care as he navigates us through the school year ahead. We sat down with him to hear about his experiences, his role as superintendent, and his values as an educator.

Let's start with some background. Please lay out the roadmap that led to you, Dr. Steve Massey, becoming the superintendent for St. Anthony-New Brighton Schools.

Oh boy, where do I begin? 

Well, my career background is pretty straightforward. I started working in Minneapolis, spent 10 years at a school in Minneapolis. And then I became an assistant principal in Forest Lake, at the school closest to where I live. Did that for two years, then ran our ALC and Montessori elementary school as principal for two years, and then served 14 years as our high school principal. And then from there, nine years as our superintendent. 

I had circled the last year when I signed my third three-year contract. I thought it would be a great window to retire. I got to the start of my third year in my third contract and put in my notice in October [2025], effective the end of that school year, that I would retire. So I started to get my head around what retirement might look like. 

Then I got a call in March from St. Anthony-New Brighton looking for an interim superintendent. I was initially hesitant because I was not looking to do another contract. It took me a bit to begin to get my head around an interim position.  

After some conversation with my wife, it made sense. It just began to make sense that this was a really unique and exciting opportunity. Plus, not having fully locked in what my retirement plans were going to be created that openness to maybe consider something different. 

After some more conversation with the board chair and vice chair and getting a better understanding of the context, I said yes and signed on for the interim position. So that's how I got here.

Why SANB? What about this opportunity, this place inspired you to take this role here and now?  

I knew a little bit about St. Anthony. Certainly enough to know that this is an extremely supportive school community with a long standing reputation of excellence for its kids and programs. A heavily-invested community. So, a very strong school district. The opportunity to work in that kind of environment was something that was exciting to me.

It's a system that was very clear from the beginning. Not a system that was broken, not a system that needed fixing, so to speak, but an opportunity to bridge from the start of the year to the end of the year where the district is now going, through the process of hiring a long-term superintendent.

So the work was fairly defined. Supporting and bridging the district and the community to the permanent superintendent.

What is your favorite thing about your role as superintendent?  

As superintendent, you get to be in the middle of a lot of conversation. Conversation about what's next, conversation about the future, conversation about vision. And that's really exciting, to be at the table. 

I'm the kind of person that works with folks to generate that and move things forward. Ideas come from conversation and dialogue, not just one person. And being able to be at the table for those conversations, to have whatever leverage the superintendent position gives you — the opportunity to influence the direction a school district goes, the initiatives a district takes on — that's really exciting. So I think that's the most exciting part for me as superintendent.

And to think, for nine years in Forest Lake, to have had that opportunity, the things we took on and were able to achieve. And now for St. Anthony, which is in the process of setting the conditions for the path moving forward. To be part of that process, to work with the board and the community and the staff to set the conditions for a successful superintendent hire. That’s also very exciting.

I don't believe any district would be in a position just to kind of rest on its reputation or laurels and expect it’s going to get a good candidate pool. I think you have to create the conditions for it, to have a successful interview process and successful selection for the next superintendent.

What do you find most challenging about being the superintendent?

You know, I think there are a number of challenges. There are a lot of moving parts, and there’s a lot of trying to get those moving parts to work in concert with one another. That is some of the most challenging work. It's also some of the most exciting work, building systems that work together. 

Some of the ongoing challenges are related to budget and finances. Scarce resources is an ongoing challenge. Not just in this community, but I think school districts across the state, if not the nation. 

There are a lot of influences. We work in an educational environment that's influenced by political interests. And I'm not saying political interests are all bad, but sometimes they compete with one another. So navigating the district forward, according to its mission and purpose around education, in the midst of those political influences is challenging.

You've been out in the schools a lot to start the new school year. For example, serving lunch to the kindergartners at Wilshire Park. Why do you think doing events like that where you're getting out and meeting students are important?

If you were to ask the average person in a community what's the role of a school, they would clearly say educating kids. 

There's a lot going on in the school district, but the heart of the district is what happens in a classroom around learning. There's a lot that supports that, from paras, to custodians, to technology staff, to food service staff. It's all integral to the core operation of educating kids. If we don't have nutritious meals for kids, they don't learn as well. If we don't have great learning environments that our custodians provide, we don't have the best conditions for kids. It's all integral.  

But the heart of the district is where the kids are at. Classrooms, hallways, lunchrooms, volleyball games, soccer games, football games, concerts, plays — that's where kids are at. 

I think the superintendent needs to be visible for the superintendent's own learning and engagement around the system, but also showing support from a district level. So it's just as good as it might be for anyone else for me to be engaged. The first day of school, the second day of school, I was in every classroom saying hi to kids or greeting staff. In a larger district it would take a while to do that. In a smaller district it's easy to do that, and that's part of the joy of this job in this district. 

What does student success look like in SANB? 

Every single kid that comes into our schools needs to know, believe and feel that they belong here. That this is their place.

This isn't a system where only certain kids find belonging. Every student must find belonging in our system. And the extent to which a kid might struggle finding their place here, we best do something about that. So that takes awareness from all of us, from teachers, to parents, to principals, administrators, even our custodians, food service staff, and recess supervisors, anyone who might see a kid struggling with belonging. It's all of our job to create context and opportunities for belonging. It might be the smile and greeting of a bus driver that creates that for one kid. It might be a coach for another, or somebody that kid meets in the hallway. But we all play a role in that.

Every kid has value as a learner and as a human being. And every kid deserves to be honored for who they are. That's the dignity work, that every kid gets treated with respect and dignity for the human being that they are. And we do that in the big ways and the small ways in terms of how we affirm who kids are as learners and who they are as individuals. 

And the third piece is instruction. Again, kids are not going to learn if they don't feel like they belong and they're not treated with respect or dignity. It's that simple. In the midst of that, how do we accelerate learning? How do we get high levels of learning, high expectations? Through high-quality instruction from our educators and systems. It's going to be different in the band room, choir room, chemistry room, kindergarten room, third grade room. Effective instruction is going to be different.  It's more than implementing curriculum. Those are tools. But how do we engage kids in learning? And are our kids learning? Are they understanding? Are they demonstrating competency in what it is that they need to learn? 

So it’s all those three pieces. I think it's a super-powerful framework. It is the essence of who we are as a school system. And again, when kids feel that they have a place here, they're treated with respect and dignity, and we engage kids in learning through high-quality instruction, great things happen.

How do you enjoy spending your free time when you're not walking school halls?  

I've got a 10-month-old grandchild, so that is giving us great joy. I spend a lot of time at home with my wife. That gives me great joy. We do a lot together. We go out, we go to restaurants, art fairs, markets, shows. I love to play golf. I exercise. I read a lot. There's not a lot of downtime.  

What else do you want students, families, and the SANB community to know about you? What message do you have for them as the new school year is in full swing? 

My message to the community is to reach out. My door is open. If people have questions or concerns, call me, email, set up an appointment. I'll meet you in the community. I want to hear from folks if they have ideas or concerns, especially with their eye on the long term. I'm here for the transition, and if there are things that the transition process needs to know, people should reach out.

I think for families and students, if they have any concerns, they should be reaching out to their teachers, their school administrators, and they should never hesitate to ask a question. And if something doesn't feel right or isn't working right, please reach out. We're here to serve.  

Is there anything you would like to add?  

You know, this may sound a bit trite, but it's a privilege for me and an honor for me to have this opportunity. I don't take it lightly. They could have chosen anybody to be in this role and they gave me the opportunity. I take that seriously, and I hope I do well by the year that I've been given.