Novato district hires new school chief
A Novato resident and former Marin educator has been chosen as the new superintendent of the Novato Unified School District.
Tracy Smith, the superintendent at the Rincon Valley Union School District in Santa Rosa, will start the job July 1. Her salary “is being finalized and will be included in the contract going before the board on March 7,” Leslie Benjamin, district spokesperson, said Friday.
Smith will succeed Jan La Torre-Derby, who will retire a second time on June 30. La Torre-Derby came out of retirement in 2021 from a previous run as superintendent to help the district recover from fiscal upheaval and declining enrollment during the pandemic. La Torre-Derby's annual salary is $280,000.
La Torre-Derby said Smith is an experienced dual language immersion teacher, meaning she is fluent in teaching Spanish to English-speakers and English to Spanishspeakers. During her more than 20 years of education experience in Marin, she was a dual immersion teacher for six years at Venetia Valley K-8 school in San Rafael.
Smith “has a record of excellence in every position she had held,” La Torre-Derby said.
As superintendent in Rincon Valley, Smith helped oversee a master facilities plan, and assisted in creating a new science, technology, engineering and math program and facilitating emergency assistance to families during the Kincaid and Glass fires in 2019 and 2020.
“Tracy is known for her calm demeanor, collaboration with all groups, high expectations and willingness to do the hard work on behalf of all students to ensure they are on the road to success,” La TorreDerby said. “Her support for all staff is beyond reproach.”
Smith also has worked with “a variety of parent groups to demonstrate that parent partnerships are a priority,” La Torre-Derby said.
Smith, 52, a Novato resident for the last seven years, said she is happy to come to work in her home town.
“I'm so up for the challenge,” she said. “It's thrilling to be coming back to Marin.”
“I live in Novato, so serving my community is extra special,” Smith said. “Not everyone gets to do that.”
Prior to Smith's tenure at Rincon Valley, which started in May 2019, she was an assistant superintendent and principal in the Miller Creek School District in San Rafael for almost eight years.
Before that, she was an elementary school principal in
the Ross Valley School District for four years. Earlier, she was a principal and
teacher in San Rafael City Schools for 10 years.
“She is a coach, collaborator and invests in each individual to join forces on behalf of students,” La TorreDerby said. “At Rincon Valley, which houses a special
education consortium and serves students from seven districts, her knowledge of special education is ever present.”
Smith has a doctorate in education from Brandman University and a master's
degree in educational leadership and administration from St. Mary's College in Moraga. Her bachelor's degree in Spanish and geography is from the University of California at Berkeley.