Pearse Reid Associates was established in 2005 as an education consulting firm while finishing my formal career as a public school educator – teacher, principal and superintendent of schools. The focus of Pearse Reid was on school leadership with a focus on school board governance and organizational leadership.
My doctoral dissertation was entitled “How are the children? The forgotten question of school leaders”. Making reference to the African Masai practice of a traditional greeting between Masai warriors, “How are the children?” the response of “sapati ingera” – the children are well – meant that peace and safety prevailed and the priority of protecting the young, the powerless and the innocent were in place.
As educational leaders, we serve children, families and communities. As leaders we also serve our faculty and staff in a manner that supports the growth and development of all students. We also build leadership teams with purpose and integrity.
Twelve years have passed since the establishment of Pearse Reid Associates. My life has changed from that of a many hour a week school leader, to a graduate school leadership program coordinator and instructor, to an education consultant and now to a mostly retired, relocated grandfather of five who desires to continue to serve the school leadership community. My purpose is simply to give back to a profession a that served me well during my forty years and also to thank those educators who supported me as a student and as a professional during all of my years associated with schools and education.
I was further prompted to begin this blog given the state of our country, the divisiveness among our people and a continuing concern for the values our country was founded upon. So my intended audience is broader than educators. The targeted audience is all who are involved with and impact our youth and their future.
Pearse Reid, the name, derives from my mother and father. My Dad was named after Patrick Pearse, an Irish national who fought for Ireland’s independence who was executed following the failed Easter Rebellion in 1916. My Mom was a woman ahead of her time who so valued her education and her professional life at a time when women college graduates were far fewer in number than today. Her maiden name of Reid always got less billing following her wartime wedding and lengthy marriage that survived until Dad’s death in 1992.
My name is Brian O’Regan. I established Pearse Reid Associates. I began my career as a special educator in Yonkers, New York before moving to Vermont in 1977. Events in life happen for a reason and Vermont became home. I eventually became a superintendent of schools in 1986 and served in that capacity with three different school systems for 20 years.
My education included an undergraduate degree from Fairfield University followed by Master’s degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and the University of Vermont in Special Education. I later earned my CAS from UVM along with my doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.
So the recurring question to you as an educator, as a school leader and as a reader of this site is: How are the children in your school and your community? And if all the children are anything less than well, what is it that you are doing to improve that situation?
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