Wayland principal Mizoguchi pitches integrated leadership at Lincoln-Sudbury superintendent forum

SUDBURY -- March 29, 2023, Wayland principal Allison Mizoguchi pitches integrated leadership at L-S finalist forum. Mizoguchi, principal of Wayland High School for nine years and a 20-plus year Wayland educator, fielded roughly an hour of community questions March 29 as the second of three finalists for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School's combined Superintendent-Principal position. She told attendees she had previously "written off district leadership" but was drawn back by L-S's one-school structure. Asked about a leadership misstep, she described rebuilding Wayland's advisory program from once-weekly 25-minute mixed-grade sessions to four seven-minute grade-based sessions weekly after student and staff feedback. On equity, she cited Wayland's revision of course-selection policies that had inadvertently discouraged students of color from upper-level classes, and hiring practices that include a "bias checker." Wayland teacher Hana Martone made an unscheduled appearance to endorse her, calling the potential hire "a tremendous loss for us and a tremendous gain for you." A third finalist forum was scheduled for the following evening.