Head of La Pietra finds direction in exploring the uncharted

During a recent eighth-grade English class at La Pietra School for Girls, in a class discussion on Iranian author Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel “Persepolis,” head of school Josh Watson broached the idea of revolution and whom, should conditions ever merit, the students might look to overthrow.

After careful consideration, the students proffered a response: “You.”

However it was intended, the reply provided fodder for an illuminating discussion. At one point a student noted the inability of the would-be revolutionaries to fully anticipate the consequences of their action.

The comment might have been a good opportunity for Watson to espouse on the nature of consequences, on the unknowable avenues of possibility that extend from any single act, on the history-altering force of the unintended. But Watson, whose very presence in the classroom was the result of a series of unforeseen results, had a simpler, deeper lesson to share.

“Sometimes,” he said, “you just have to see where a situation leads you.”

In his second year at the helm of the historic all-girls school, Watson has distinguished himself as a leader of unique experience and insight, a Latin-speaking Iowan who can speak in depth about the school’s Italian architecture and design with the same ease that might discuss the relative merits of Triumph motorcycles.

Born and raised just outside of Cedar Rapids, he was pursuing a self-designed major in humanities at the University of Iowa when he took his first Latin classes and fell in love. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Northern Iowa in 1996, completed a Latin summer school program in Rome, then earned an M.A. in classics from the University of Colorado in 1999.

“I majored in classics because I liked it,” Watson said. “I didn’t have a career path open to me. Someone said, ‘Why don’t you teach high school?’ because of the content area, so I sort of backed into teaching.”

Watson spent a year teaching in Orlando, Fla., before taking a job as teacher and counselor in Denver, where he met his wife, Virginia.

In 2004 the couple moved to Hawaii, and Watson found work first as a college counselor, teacher and testing coordinator at University Laboratory School and later as assistant head of school and dean of students at Academy of the Pacific.

Watson said his seven years at AOP were particularly valuable because he was able to get to know each student personally and could recognize how understanding their backgrounds and backstory could make a difference in the classroom.

Watson’s own education continued during this time with a post-baccalaureate certificate in secondary education, a second master’s degree in educational leadership, and a doctorate in professional education practice, each from the University of Hawaii.

When AOP closed in 2013, Watson became assistant principal for student life at Mid-Pacific Institute, where he remained until becoming head of school at La Pietra last year.

Watson said he was aware of the potential tensions that might arise from being a man in charge of an all-girls school.

“I was confident that if I showed myself to be a decent human being, things would be OK,” he said. “It was a bit of a gamble, but all students want to know is that you care about them and about their success, and that’s how I feel.”

And yet, just to be safe, “Sometimes I’ll ask people, ‘Is this a male thing?’” he said, laughing.

Watson places special value on creating an environment in which students feel safe expressing themselves. To this end he has no reservation about letting his silly side show once in a while, as he once did by breaking off a few “Hype” moves (of online video game “Fortnite” fame) during a school assembly.

“Everybody has a talent,” he said. “Mine is making a fool of myself for the benefit of students.”

Watson leverages the silly and the scholarly as a means of capitalizing on the unique advantages of leading a relatively small school, in particular the ability to forge strong personal relationships with and between students, faculty and parents.

Under his watch, even teachers get assigned readings, most recently Ted Dintersmith’s “Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era,” which he hopes will inspire a conversation about alternative models of education and the future direction of the school.

Who knows where that will lead?

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.