Gormley begins tenure as Socorro superintendent

Last week, Joyce Gormley began her role as the superintendent of the Socorro School District.

“I feel like I’ve landed in a really good spot. I know it’s very early for me to say, but it feels like the right fit for me,” Gormley said.

She said she was initially attracted to Socorro because of her family connection. Her husband grew up in Socorro, and his father had a career at New Mexico Tech.

“He was a big man with a big personality,” Gormley said about her father-in-law, Simon Gormley, “I know he’s looking down, and I think he’d be tickled pink that we’re here.”

She said her husband, who has shown her unwavering support, is also enjoying the nostalgia of being back.

“He always spoke fondly about Socorro and his friendships, and even when he talked about his difficulties, he would laugh.” Gormley said.

In her experience at Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), she didn’t have much contact with students, so being in a small school district like Socorro, she’s looking forward to growing those relationships with families.

“At APS, I can honestly say I don’t think I ever knew any kids, and I knew very few teachers. I worked with a lot of principals, so that opportunity to be back to an arm’s length away from kids and know families was really appealing to me,” Gormley said, “You can hear parents. You can build relationships with parents in a community this size. It’s very hard to do that in a larger community.”

In July, a friend mentioned that an opening might be available at Socorro Schools.

“She knew that I wanted more of a leadership position. I was ready. I felt like I was ready. That’s why I left CYFD, is I was ready to lead. I had that desire, and so I started watching board meetings online,” Gormley said.

While following the meetings, she found that the instructional practices aligned with her beliefs such as Professional Learning Communities (PLC).

“PLCs are huge. I’m a huge proponent of professional learning communities and the impact it can have on student achievement. The other thing that was extremely impressive to me is standards-based grading on a zero to four scale.” Gormley said.

In her 30-day plan in her new position, her goal is to collect information and get to know the school district and the community.

“I really believe that, and they say in a leadership position, or especially as you don’t come in and make sweeping changes your first year. And I really believe that’s important because you don’t know what you don’t. I don’t even know what I don’t know yet,” Gormley said.

Her priorities are getting a lay of the land, looking at budgets, finance, academics and demographics. She is planning meetings with district staff, constituents and stakeholders.

“I’ve developed a little survey just to get an overview of what the climate is, what people feel the needs are, what the strengths are, what we can leverage, what our community partnerships are, where community partnerships might grow, things like that,” Gormley said.

She believes her experience in both large and small educational settings and her background in administration and instructional support have been good preparation for the superintendent position.

Gormley, who has 30 years under her belt in education, acknowledges that problems in education are extremely complex.

“If they weren’t complex, we would have solved them by now,” Gormley said.

She said her leadership style is collaborative; although she is capable and willing to make decisions when necessary, she believes in partnerships and working together with the district staff.

“I’m so thankful and happy to work with Kim and the staff that I’ve met here. They are an extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and hard-working group,” Gormley said.