On her first day working in the Piedmont school district, Superintendent Constance Hubbard received a purple pumpkin as a symbol of Piedmont pride. For fifteen years, she has kept it in her office filled with candy.

At the end of the school year, her renowned pumpkin will be emptied and passed down to her successor as Hubbard retires from a 12-year tenure as superintendent.

“I feel like we’re in a good financial position, the curriculum is going along very well in what we’re offering students, the schools are all seismically safe,” Hubbard said. “We’re all moving in a good direction and I think it’s just time to allow new leadership.”

As superintendent, Hubbard has been instrumental in implementing decisions regarding educational programs, spending and staff. She has hired, supervised and managed the district’s six principals as well as overseen the central staff.

Although crucial, her role has remained a mystery to a majority of the student body.

“The job of the superintendent is to set things such that students do not have to worry about getting what they need,” Hubbard said. “It is important information that students understand that the superintendent is a resource if they are not getting what they need.”

However, the job of the superintendent is not to make the changes themselves, Hubbard said,  but rather to help others work toward it.

“I don’t feel like there’s anything I can point to where if it wasn’t for me that wouldn’t have happened,’” Hubbard said, “because it just takes the cooperation of everybody.”

Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Randall Booker said Hubbard has been an unbelievable mentor. He first met her when he was hired as an English teacher at MacGregor High School in Albany, where she served as the principal.

When Hubbard took on the job of the Assistant Superintendent for Business and Personnel at Piedmont, Booker remained in the Albany school district for a few more years. In 2003, he came to Piedmont as the assistant principal for PHS. Two years later, he became principal.

“I was a brand new principal and she took a chance on me back in 2005 and guided me through that,” Booker said. “She let me experience some bumps and bruises, but at the same time supported me.”

Booker said Hubbard is no-nonsense and challenges people to think their ideas through.

Yet despite her tough exterior, she also has a good sense of humor and is not afraid to laugh at herself, said President of the Board of Education Andrea Swenson.

“She takes what she does really seriously but she doesn’t take herself too seriously, which I think is really important,” Swenson said.

Hubbard’s experience, knowledge of the community and strong sense of people has allowed her to succeed in her job, Swenson said.

“She always zeros in on the right thing to do for our students and that’s who she puts first,” Swenson said. “She’s just very honest and forthcoming and she has been a pleasure to work with.”

Booker said Hubbard has navigated the district with her uncanny ability to bring people together while maintaining a robust academic program and professional development team.

“Her ability to bring people together, bring people to the table, to find common ground, to share interests has really been remarkable,” Booker said.

Hubbard said that the most challenging thing about her job has been handling the district’s budget, making sure that students continue to receive the resources they need while not exceeding the district’s available funds.

“The state seems to be in a budget crisis all the time,” Hubbard said. “We have been able to [succeed] because this community is so incredible in their financial support, we’ve been able to maintain a really good program.”

She said working as a high school counselor has influenced her approach as an administrator to frame all decisions in the context of the students.

“I think that counselors have the opportunity to see the big picture that kids are facing and that sometimes when you’re a single subject teacher, you’re so focused on your content area, you don’t get it that your kid is dealing with friends or having trouble,” Hubbard said.

Although she misses having personal interaction with students, she enjoys how her job has enabled her to work with the people who work directly with students.

“The most important part of my whole job is making sure people who are in the system are the best possible in working on behalf of kids,” Hubbard said. “Be it the best teacher, the best administrator, the best counselor, the best whatever.”

Hubbard said that working in the Piedmont district has been an incredible experience. She will miss the creativity, energy and insight of the community.

“You have an idea and you just talk to people here and if it’s a good idea, it gets done,” Hubbard said. “That is very unique here.”

While she has no set plans for the future, she could see herself working or volunteering in a school setting.

She said her final message to students would be to believe in themselves.

“I get so worried that kids sometimes can’t see through the day’s problem to understand that it’s in the bigger picture and not overreact in the short run,” she said. “I want kids to understand that you may have a bad day, you might not get what you think is what you want most of all, that A or getting into that one college that is your dream college, but there’s a lesson in that and that lesson is that there’s always a tomorrow.”