Molly McGraw Healy, former director of charter authorizing, has been promoted to senior director of strategic partnerships, a newly created position in the School of Education at the University of St. Thomas. In this new position, Molly will serve as the primary liaison between the Maxfield Elementary Collaborative Learning School, Saint Paul Public Schools and the University of St. Thomas.
The Maxfield Elementary Collaborative Learning School, launching fall 2023, will aim to improve educational outcomes for K-5 learners at Maxfield Elementary while enhancing the School of Education’s ability to prepare future teachers. Students will be learning in the field from experienced Saint Paul Public Schools teachers, while a dedicated classroom on-site allows faculty members and students to build skills and immediately apply them to the classroom. This partnership is recognized nationally as a gold standard for removing the gap between classroom learning and teaching in the field.
“Molly’s background in education policy and practice position her perfectly to use her superpowers of strategic planning, project management and innovative thinking in her new role,” interim Dean Amy Smith said.
In her previous role, Healy spent over a decade evaluating academic and organizational outcomes for 12 public charter schools. In her meetings with leaders, teachers, parents, students and board members, she grew in her understanding of schools as dynamic, complex organizations and observed the importance of taking action within an aligned and cohesive strategy.
“What excites me about this new position is that St. Thomas and Maxfield are entering the partnership on equal footing,” Healy said. “Maxfield is a mature school that has an incredible staff and leadership; St. Thomas is a leader in the field of teacher preparation with talented and committed faculty. We will work together to close the gap between theory and practice, accelerating the process of researching, developing, and applying best practices that benefit students, teachers, and ultimately the whole community.”
The position of senior director of strategic partnerships was created after extensive research on collaborative schools across the country, with an eye toward the future. The School of Education seeks a long-term, sustainable partnership with Maxfield, and recognizes that a partnership liaison affords the best opportunity to develop a true collaboration between St. Thomas, Maxfield and the Rondo community.
