Caitlin Paget: Why Transparency Matters in School Leadership

Sutton’s Superintendent, Caitlin Paget, on leadership, public accountability, and the reality of guiding a school district.

To many people, a school superintendent’s role remains largely out of view. It can look like a job spent behind a desk, reviewing reports and attending meetings while the real action takes place in classrooms. The reality is that the role is far more public, demanding, and visible than many may realize.

For Sutton Superintendent Caitlin Paget, transparency is not just a leadership style, it is a necessity. Every decision, meeting, and message carries public weight, and every action is subject to scrutiny from staff, families, and the wider community. From navigating budget constraints to responding to community concerns, the job requires constant communication and openness.

An Unexpected Path 

Paget’s path to her current role was anything but predictable. She did not set out to become a superintendent. When she entered college, her plan was to pursue medicine and eventually become a pediatrician because she had long been drawn to working with children. But once she encountered the realities of college-level science courses, she realized that path might not be the right fit for her.

Instead, she looked to a profession where she could still work closely with young people while having a direct impact on their development. Education quickly became the natural direction.

Superintendent of Sutton Public Schools, Caitlin Paget

Her first job in 2008 was as a preschool teacher in Hanover, Massachusetts. The position placed her in a specialized role helping children with disabilities transition into public school. This occupation was unique as she worked not only in the classroom but also visited homes to observe students before they entered the school system. The experience exposed her to both the academic and personal challenges many students face before they even begin kindergarten.

Paget’s subsequent jobs also revealed something unique about her own professional trajectory. “I’ve always been someone that starts somewhere and then somehow ends up at the top,” she said. “My mom and my husband say it all the time. I’ll be somewhere for one thing and then all of a sudden I’m in charge.” 

At the time, that tendency toward leadership was just beginning to show itself. Paget built a broad foundation as an educator, earning multiple licenses that allowed her to work across general education and special education roles. She also became a board certified behavior analyst, which expanded her expertise in supporting students with complex learning and behavioral needs.

Early in her career, she taught second grade in a co-taught classroom. Like many educators entering the profession during the 2008 recession and its aftermath, however, she encountered the instability of school budgets. After being laid off in 2011, she moved to Brookline, where she worked as a special education teacher in a program designed for students who required intensive behavioral and academic support.

“Those were my favorite kids to work with, the ones that needed that extra love and attention,” Paget said. 

The work was deeply meaningful but also demanding. After several years she moved into a second grade classroom at another Brookline school; a position she describes as her dream job. For a time, she believed she could happily remain there for the rest of her career.

Instead, another opportunity appeared.

Her principal encouraged her to become the school’s literacy coach, a role that shifted her from direct classroom instruction into leadership. In that position she oversaw literacy interventions, implemented instructional initiatives, and provided professional development for teachers across the school.

Later, when another administrator went out on leave, Paget stepped in as interim vice principal. The experience broadened her responsibilities and gave her a wider view of school leadership and the challenges that come along with it. 

Eventually, personal circumstances forced another major decision. With two young children at home, the daily commute from Grafton to Brookline became unsustainable.

“I was spending like four hours in the car every day,” she said. “I wasn’t being a very good administrator and I wasn’t being a very good mom.” 

That realization pushed her to pursue a leadership position closer to home. When the principal job in Sutton opened, Paget applied expecting to lead what she had been told was a quiet pre-kindergarten through fifth grade school in a small town.

What happened next surprised even her. During a televised school committee meeting, Paget learned at the same moment as the rest of the community that she had been appointed interim superintendent.

“They did it on live TV without telling me,” she recalled. “I was watching with my husband and he said, ‘Did they just name you?’ And I said, ‘I think so.’” 

What began as a temporary assignment quickly became permanent when the school committee asked her to remain in the role. And despite the unexpected path that brought her there, she now says she cannot imagine doing anything else.

Day-To-Day Responsibilities and Realities

Ask most people what a superintendent does during a typical day and the answer is often vague. Many imagine long hours behind a desk reviewing reports or attending meetings. Paget says the reality looks very different. “There is no real typical day,” she explained. 

Her schedule shifts constantly depending on the needs of the district. Meetings, unexpected issues, and conversations with staff or community members can quickly reshape whatever plan she started the day with.

To manage that unpredictability, Paget relies on a system built around transparency. Her calendar is carefully organized and shared with members of her administrative team so they always know where she is and what she is working on.

“I am very transparent about where I am, who I’m with, and what I’m doing,” she said. “If something is scheduled, it’s on my Google calendar. I put everything on my calendar. Not just work. My obligations as a mom and a wife are there too,” Paget said. 

Her day typically begins after getting her children ready for school and arriving at the district offices around eight in the morning. From there the schedule becomes a mix of meetings and problem solving that touches nearly every aspect of the school system.

Some conversations focus on instruction and leadership with principals and assistant principals. Others focus on finances, including regular meetings with the district’s business manager to ensure the budget is on track.

“Are we on track to close out the year with what we had budgeted?” she said. “If we’re not, we need to start a game-plan on how we’re going to fix that.” 

Despite these responsibilities, Paget makes a conscious effort to spend time moving throughout the district rather than remaining behind a desk.

“I do not like to sit in my office,” she said. “Everyone that knows me well knows that.” 

Still, one of the challenges of the job is that much of the work happens in places the public cannot easily see. Meetings with regional superintendent groups, collaborative boards, and other education leaders often take her off campus. That can sometimes lead to misunderstandings.

“People assume that if they don’t see you, you must just be sitting in your office,” Paget said. “But that’s so far from the truth.” 

Most days she remains at work until the early evening before returning home to spend time with her family. But leaving the office rarely means the work is finished. Once her children are asleep, Paget often returns to emails and administrative tasks late into the night.

“Just because I email you at eleven at night doesn’t mean I expect a response,” she said. “That’s just when I’m able to get back to things.” 

The pace of the job has led Paget to adopt a philosophy she often shares with other administrators.

“As an administrator you have to rotate your neglect,” she explained. 

No leader can give equal attention to every responsibility at every moment. Some weeks the job demands more time, while family must come first other weeks. The balance is always shifting. One thing, however, never changes. In a role responsible for an entire school district, there is always something that needs attention.

Making the Hard Decisions 

One of the most difficult parts of serving as superintendent is making decisions that affect an entire school community. For Paget, those decisions almost always begin with the same guiding principle.

“I always come to decisions by what’s in the best interest for the kids,” she said. 

That standard may sound simple, but applying it is rarely easy. School districts operate within tight financial constraints and complex policy requirements, meaning that leaders are often forced to weigh competing priorities. Sutton Public Schools, like many public schools, is a victim of a limiting budget which makes her job even harder. When making choices, Paget always relies heavily on data rather than personal preference.

“You can’t make decisions that impact people just on how you feel,” she explained. 

Instead, she examines enrollment numbers, program participation, and classroom needs across the district before recommending a course of action. Those numbers often reveal difficult tradeoffs.

A program that benefits a small group of students, for example, may compete for resources with services that affect much larger groups of children. For Fiscal Year 2027, Sutton has had to grapple with cutting part of the music program and a librarian in order to make the budget work. Paget says that these decisions are some of the hardest to make. 

The library in the Sutton High School and Middle School

“I love the music program. I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “But when I’m looking at ninety kindergarten students and deciding whether their class sizes should be 23 or 19, that’s when this job becomes hard.” 

Situations like these illustrate the reality of leadership in public education. Every decision carries consequences, and there are rarely solutions that satisfy everyone. Because of that, Paget emphasizes transparency and communication when disagreements arise.

“My biggest thing is that I’m an open book,” she said. “If you want to come meet with me, I will meet with you.” 

Those conversations can involve teachers, staff members, parents, or school committee members who may see an issue from a different perspective. Paget believes that listening to those perspectives is essential, even when the final decision may not change.

At the same time, she encourages what she calls respectful disagreement. “I really focus on having dignified disagreements,” she explained. 

The concept acknowledges that people within a school community will not always agree on policies or priorities. What matters, she says, is maintaining respect for one another while discussing those differences.

Ultimately, however, leadership requires someone to make a final call. Paget can present information and offer recommendations, but many decisions in the district are formally made by the elected school committee. Her role is to provide the information they need to act. “I’ll give you all the information I have,” she said. “But eventually you have to make a decision.” 

In a system where budgets are tight and expectations are high, that responsibility is one of the most challenging aspects of the job.

The Reality of Unfunded Mandates

One of the less visible pressures on school districts comes from state requirements that arrive without long term funding to support them. “Unfunded mandates are a hot topic,” Paget said. “But it’s a reality.” 

These mandates often come with short-term grant funding, but once that funding expires, districts are responsible for covering the cost themselves. For small districts like Sutton, even modest expenses can have a real impact. Paget pointed to a required kindergarten through third grade universal screening tools as an example. Initially covered by a grant, the cost now falls on the district at roughly ten thousand dollars, forcing tradeoffs elsewhere.

Massachusetts State House

In practice, that can mean reducing spending in areas like classroom supplies to meet state requirements. The same challenge applies to curriculum, which must align with state standards but is expensive to implement.

“There’s a lot of things that go on [at the state level] where I don’t think they understand the impact it has on smaller districts like us,” Paget said. 

Because of this, advocacy has become a key part of her role. Paget regularly communicates with state leaders and takes any opportunity to explain the district’s needs.

“Anytime I can get their [state representatives] ear, I do,” she said. Even when outcomes are uncertain, she sees value in being heard. “They might not listen to me, but I can say that I tried,” Paget added. 

At a broader level, Paget pointed to the state’s Chapter 70 funding formula, which has not been meaningfully updated in decades, as a central issue. While there is growing momentum for reform, there is no guarantee that changes will benefit smaller districts like Sutton.

“There’s a very real possibility that it’s not better for us,” she said. “But it’s not working now.” In other words, the current system continues to strain smaller districts and may eventually force them to consolidate to remain sustainable.

Looking Ahead

Despite the pressures of the position, Paget believes the work of public education remains deeply meaningful.

In recent years, however, she has watched the conversation around schools become increasingly politicized. “I think everything has become so hyper politicized in our world,” she said. 

That shift has created new challenges for educators and administrators alike. Many people now view schools through a political lens, assuming that educators are pushing particular agendas. Paget argues that the reality inside schools looks very different.

For Paget, education is about more than academic achievement. While reading, writing, and mathematics remain essential, she believes schools also have a responsibility to help students develop the social and personal skills needed to participate in society.

Students spend more than a decade in public schools, often during the most formative years of their lives. That time creates an opportunity to shape how young people interact with others, solve problems, and contribute to their communities.

“We’re really just trying to make good kids. I want you to leave [school] being a genuinely good human being,” Paget explained. 

Looking forward, she hopes more people will recognize the broader mission of public education and the role schools play in preparing students not just for careers, but for citizenship and community life. If communities can move beyond political divisions and focus on that shared goal, Paget believes the potential of public education is far greater than many people realize.