BRUNSWICK

Gregory Bartlett, who has worked in education for 42 years, many of them as Brunswick’s assistant superintendent, will be retiring on July 1.

“I’ve come to the realization that this is a good time for me to leave the school department, move on, and try other things,” said Bartlett.

Bartlett is in his 18th year as assistant superintendent in Brunswick.

“I think, like most young people, I was inspired by good teachers and administrators growing up and going through high school,” Bartlett said.

He started his career at Calais’s high school between 1973-1978, before taking a teaching position at Morse High School in Bath.

One of his fondest memories, he said, was being asked to return to Calais to give that high school’s graduation address.

Bartlett began the administration phase of his career in Bath, and then became Brunswick High School principal from 1987-1992. Then, he spent five years as the superintendent/high school principal in Richmond, before returning to Brunswick.

“I always wanted to be an effective teacher,” he said, but became an administrator in order to “share ideas about instruction and curriculum.”

Bartlett said he was proud of the work he had done with former UMass Lowell Professor Robert Gower in sharing teaching skills and theories with other educators.

Most recently, Bartlett said he was thrilled to travel to China on behalf of Brunswick’s exchange program.

He said he has seen many changes in his four decades in education, not all of them for the better.

“The politics infused in education has been really disheartening. I have a great deal of concern and worry for young teachers and administrators coming into the profession,” he said.

Most troubling is the state and federal mandates that go unfunded, including a new teacher evaluation law.

Bartlett said he is glad for the relationships he’s forged with colleagues, teachers, students, parents and community members throughout the years, and has been grateful for the work of Rotarians who saw to it that some low-income kids in the school district received Christmas gifts every year.

“I find that very gratifying,” he said.

Bartlett will be spending time between homes in Maine and Nova Scotia.

His retirement could create a gap in the line of ascension to the superintendency.

“I’m not going to be around forever. It’s important to get somebody willing to take over,” said Superintendent Paul Perzanoski in an interview, adding that at some point he will also have to start looking at retirement. “The board needs to look at somebody to depend on.

“I’m going to miss him dearly — his loyalty, his professionalism and his humor,” said Perzanoski, addressing the school board on Wednesday.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com

GREGORY BARTLETT started his career at Calais’s high school between 1973-1978, before taking a teaching position at Morse High School in Bath. He began the administration phase of his career in Bath, and then became Brunswick High School principal from 1987-1992. Then, he spent five years as the superintendent/high school principal in Richmond, before returning to Brunswick.