Boston Partners in Education (Boston Partners) had an opportunity to speak with Dr. Gary Gottlieb, a Big Cheese Reader and the CEO of Partners Healthcare. About a year ago Dr. Gottlieb accepted the position of CEO at Partners HealthCare; during his time of transition, he was able to participate in The Big Cheese Reads. While Partners Healthcare has been a partner of ours for a number of years, this was Dr. Gottlieb’s first year participating in our initiative. Boston Partners was thrilled to have him join the 100 plus Big Cheese Readers who have visited middle schools across the city of Boston. He visited the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury, a school that had recently faced a true tragedy, the loss of a student. His presence in the classroom was greatly appreciated by the Principal, Valeria Lowe-Barehmi. While the topic was never directly addressed, he was able to answer a number of questions regarding psychology to a very interested audience of seventh graders. We appreciate that Dr. Gottlieb took time out of his busy schedule to talk with us about what made the experience meaningful for him.
Dr. Gottlieb reads to middle school students at the James P. Timilty Middle School
Last year was your first year as a Big Cheese Reader. What do you find so rewarding about the morning?
Last year, I was in a bilingual classroom. I was inspired by the passion for knowledge and engagement in children who were driven to become dedicated readers while embracing a new language.
Tell us about your charity work:
Making sure that children are ready for school and modeling learning for children is critically important to their futures. It’s a joy to share in helping to build a culture of literacy for our young people who are in the early stages of learning to read. We see literacy and early childhood education as the first step in the journey to student success – in high school achievement, college readiness and ultimately as productive members of our society.
Why do you choose to support Boston Partners in Education?
The mission of Boston Partners in Education parallels the work of many of the Partners student initiatives. Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital – founding hospitals of Partners HealthCare – as well as health centers across our network are deeply committed to achievement in school. Our hospitals offer programs for children in elementary school as well as our more intensive high school programs with mentoring programs and internships. They also include training for community residents as well as incumbent workers to develop health care career pathways.
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About Partners HealthCare:
The Partners mission focuses on leadership in research, bringing discovery to the patient’s bedside, and then sharing those successes with the world to benefit generations to come.
The mission embraces an investment in education and training to nurture the next generation of leaders who can carry forward the lessons learned, and to promote the development of an innovative, compassionate workforce by creating opportunities for achievement and advancement.
Learn more about Partners Healthcare on their website at: www.partners.org
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Dr. Gottlieb’s time spent in the classroom was invaluable. His dedication to the community and its future leaders is apparent in his interaction with students. Thank you for your time spent in the classroom!