Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Honors Jay Lang ’00, ’15
Image by Brooke Coupal
09/17/2024
By Brooke Coupal
As the new school year kicked off, a familiar face was ready to greet students in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
Jay Lang ’00, ’15, who got his master’s degree in education administration and his Ed.D. in education in leadership in schooling at UMass Lowell, has served as the Chelmsford Public Schools superintendent since 2015 and says seeing the students return never gets old.
“From elementary to high school, kids are saying, ‘How are you, Dr. Lang? Did you have a good summer?’” says Lang, who welcomed students as they returned to school in late August. “I get to see the investments that we’ve made pay out for the kids who are coming back, and that’s really rewarding.”
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) recognized Lang’s service to public education with its President’s Award.
“Superintendent Lang was an easy choice to be awarded this honor,” says M.A.S.S. Executive Director Mary Bourque. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and impact on the lives of students, families, staff, colleagues and the overall future of education.”
Business Mind in Education
For nearly 30 years and in different roles, Lang has made an impact on the local public education system.
As superintendent of Chelmsford Public Schools, Lang brought full-day kindergarten to the district, secured $7.9 million in funding for new modular classrooms to meet enrollment demands and added therapeutic and behavioral programming to better support students. Before this role, Lang spent 20 years working with Lowell Public Schools, including 12 years as deputy superintendent of finance and operations.
“I have been privileged to have the experience that I have had in public education,” he says. “I love what I do.”
Image by Brooke Coupal
Despite Lang’s devotion to public education, he did not always envision himself in this field. He studied business administration as an undergraduate student at Merrimack College, with the intention of going to law school. That changed after he completed a co-op with a Boston law firm during his junior year.
“I had a different take on what being a lawyer looked like,” he says. “The co-op made me realize that I didn’t want to go into law. I started to rethink what I wanted to do.”
Growing up in Lowell’s Highlands neighborhood, Lang spent his days as a lifeguard, an instructor for swimming and tennis and as a member of a youth group at St. Margaret of Scotland church. His background working with kids in the city resulted in him being approached with a “unique opportunity” as he finished his senior year of college in 1995.
The city of Lowell had received a grant to start a community schools program, in which the public schools would become community centers offering programming before and after school. Lang applied and ultimately was hired as the coordinator for the initiative.
“It was the perfect opportunity at the right time,” he says.
In 2000, Lang transitioned from working for the city as part of the community schools initiative to working for the Lowell Public Schools as the coordinator of extended time programs. He oversaw summer and other programs offered by the schools and worked closely with the district’s finance and operations department on payroll and grant applications.
“I’ve always liked the business side of things, but I was also working with kids and could see the impact that the programs were having on them,” he says. “That was huge for me.”
Three years later, Lowell Public Schools had an opening for an assistant superintendent for finance and operations. The superintendent at the time, Karla Brooks Baehr, who went on to become the deputy commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, encouraged Lang to apply. He got the job.
In this role, Lang was responsible for the oversight of the district’s $175 million budget.
“I was able to really look at the resources that the school district had and figure out how to best allocate them to support the kids, families and staff in the buildings,” says Lang, who advised the superintendent and the Lowell School Committee on financial matters. “I maintained the business side of things, but within an educational environment. It was a true match.”
Lang Gets Educated
While Lang worked for Lowell Public Schools, he felt it was a natural time to explore graduate degrees in education.
“I thought, ‘Maybe I would like to be a superintendent someday,’ but coming from a nontraditional background in business, I had to get the education credentials,” he says.
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Lang turned to UMass Lowell, which works closely with Lowell Public Schools. UML’s education administration master’s program aligned with his interests, and the campus was nearby. Plus, he knew another person who was also enrolling in the program – his wife, Lori Lang ’94, ’01, who got her bachelor’s degree in health education from the university.
“She had a very good experience as an undergrad,” Lang says of his wife, who is the principal at Joseph G. Pyne Arts Magnet School in Lowell. “It was nice to have someone to do the program with.”
Lang went on to complete his Doctor of Education in leadership in schooling in 2015, the same year he became the Chelmsford Public Schools superintendent.
“Jay is quietly persistent and effective,” says Education Assoc. Prof. Stacy Szczesiul, who served as Lang’s dissertation director. “He is so good at what he does.”
As Lang focuses on his superintendent duties, which include guiding the early stages of a new middle school building project in Chelmsford, he is finding time to give back. He welcomes aspiring teachers from UMass Lowell into Chelmsford’s schools so they can gain field experience. He also serves on the advisory board for UML’s School of Education.
“We’re looking at how education is going to change over the years while preparing teaching students for the workforce,” he says. “UMass Lowell has always done a nice job of looking ahead.”